Nevada jobless claims decline again in March

Nevada officials said new claims for unemployment benefits declined again in March.

Claims last month totaled 16,356 - almost 10 percent less than the 18,155 new claims filed in March 2011, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation.

"Over each of the past 28 months, the level of new unemployment claims has fallen compared to the same month in the prior year," he said.

Anderson said new claims are a major indicator that the Nevada labor market is stabilizing. But, he said, that number of new claims is still higher than the 10,000 to 12,000 that would be consistent with a healthy labor market.

"So while the decline in new claims is an encouraging sign, the high level of claims overall reveals that Nevada still has a long road to full recovery," he said.