Nevada jobless rate ticks up in July

Even though the state’s unemployment rate actually increased a tenth in July, at 4.8 percent seasonally adjusted and 5.1 percent unadjusted, it remains well below 5.6 percent from a year ago.

Carson City also reported just 4.8 percent of the workforce out of work, two-tenths higher than June with 1,200 looking for a job in a workforce of 24,900.

Gov. Brian Sandoval touted the state’s job growth he said has exceeded that of the nation as a whole for 60 months now. He said altogether, Nevada has added back more than 231,000 jobs since the recovery began.

Total employment now exceeds 1.34 million workers according to Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

In addition, of the 5,300 jobs added during July, Anderson said 1,400 were in the public sector — one area that has lagged during the recovery from the recession. That lag has been especially visible in Carson City where three of the top four employers — the state, school district and city — are public entities.

Carson City reported an increase in unemployment from 4.6 to 4.8 percent since June but the capital also saw an increase in the labor force of more than 200, accounting for a good share of the rise.

The Reno-Sparks reporting area remains well ahead of the rest of the state. With employment at businesses including Tesla, Panasonic and Switch and a booming construction industry, unemployment is at just 4.2 percent in Reno-Sparks. That percentage translates to less than 10,000 job seekers in a labor force of 234,900.

The Las Vegas reporting area was still above the rest of the state, reporting 5.4 percent unemployment in July compared to 5.1 percent in June. Like Carson City, a good part of the change was the increase in the total labor force as more people arrived in southern Nevada looking for work. The total workforce in Las Vegas increased about 8,000 over the month to 1.07 million.

In Churchill County, the number of employed workers dropped by more than 220 while the labor force decreased by about the same — a bit more than 200. Churchill finished the month with 10.031 employed in a labor force of 10,492 leaving just 461 without a job.

Churchill’s unemployment rate for July was 4.4 percent, up two tenths from June.

Douglas County saw a one-tenth increase to 4.5 percent. The labor force increased by about 150 to 22,673. But only about 90 more people found jobs in Douglas, leaving 1,029 without work.

In Lyon County, the work force shrunk by just about 110 people to 21,271. But the number of people with jobs shrunk by more — 184 people. As a result, the unemployment rate climbed in Lyon from 5.6 percent to 5.9 percent over the course of July.