State jobless claims down significantly

Nevada had 13,267 initial claims for unemployment benefits in March.

That is 14 percent less than during the same month a year ago and just about one-third of the monthly claims filed at the peak of the recession.

A spokesman for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said that is very close to the average of 12,500 initial claims a month before the recession.

Chief Economist Bill Anderson said that, along with increases in the overall number of jobs in Nevada, indicates that the labor market is on the mend.

The initial claim is an indication of how many people recently lost a job and, according to Anderson, doesn’t indicate the overall level of unemployment. That number has fallen compared with the same month of the previous year for 16 consecutive months and 49 of the past 52 months.

Initial claims peaked during the recession at 36,414 in December 2008.