Unemployment rate down to 5.8% in August

Nevada’s raw unemployment rate dropped to just 5.8 percent in August.

While the seasonally adjusted rate was a bit higher at 6.3 percent, the raw rate is what compares directly to the different reporting areas of the state. The adjusted rate takes into account such things as holidays and the school year.

In Churchill County, the rate dropped a full six-tenths from July to August, finishing the month at 5.8 percent. Churchill has been on a bit of a roller coaster this year. It was also at 5.8 percent in February and March before rising to 6.7 percent in June. As of August, there were just 591 looking for work in a labor pool of 10,274.

The news was especially good for Carson City where recovery from the recession has lagged primarily because of the heavy proportion of public employees in the Capital. Carson reported a 6 percent jobless rate in August, it’s lowest in several years since the recession took hold. Carson started 2016 at 7.7 percent.

Carson reported gains in a variety of service providing categories including private service providers, trade and transportation, retail and in the public sector.

Reno/Sparks was doing even better, reporting 4.9 percent of its 221,800 workers jobless.

Reno nearly matched the August figures reported in Elko, which saw much less damage from the recession because of the strength of the mining industry. Elko’s rate as of the end of August was just 4.5 percent.

Las Vegas saw the most significant decrease in out of work residents, dropping from 6.7 percent unemployment to just 6 percent from July to August.

Just more than one million workers live in that reporting area.

Statewide, there are 1.43 million in the Nevada labor force. Of those, 93,100 are reportedly seeking a job as of August.

Finally, Lyon County saw a decrease of seven-tenths. But Lyon still has the state’s second highest unemployment rate at 7.3 percent — only exceeded by Mineral County’s 7.5 percent rate.