Click image for enlargement. Graphic by Mike Johnson.

The Las Vegas unemployment rate hit a recent high at 4.7 percent in January and exceeded the national jobless rate for the first time since January 2003, the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation announced Tuesday.

The local economy suffers from the slump in home building and the pause in casino building, but state economist James Shabi predicts the economy will awaken from its slumber with the arrival of new casinos.

The typical employment cycle in Las Vegas starts with a boom in new casino jobs, followed by a surge in home building to accommodate the new casino jobs and then retail job growth as shopping centers are built to serve new neighborhoods.

"This time, we just really didn't have casino growth in front of (the surge in jobs and economic activity)," Shabi said.

Las Vegas, like some other cities, enjoyed explosive housing market growth and price appreciation over the last couple of years before hitting the skids last year.

The 4.7 percent unemployment rate, which is not seasonally adjusted, exceeds the 4.6 percent high last year in July in Las Vegas, the department said. The unemployment rate ran 4.2 percent in December.

"We've seen an increase (in unemployment) over the past year as the economy slows down a little bit," Shabi said.

Shabi related the slump to reports of a 25 percent drop in new homes since late summer and a 30 percent decline or more in new home permits in most of the last nine months.

In addition, no big megaresort has opened in Las Vegas since the April 2005 debut of Wynn Las Vegas. South Point opened in December 2005 and Red Rock Resort began operation in April. But the Lady Luck and Stardust have closed, Shabi said.

The department Tuesday also reported that Las Vegas' revised average job growth last year was 4.5 percent.

Las Vegas job growth slowed to 4 percent in the fourth quarter last year from 7 percent in the first quarter, Shabi said.

In January, that slowdown continued as Las Vegas posted a 3.8 percent increase over the same month last year. The area added 33,500 additional jobs, bringing the total to 924,900.

Construction employment edged up 0.8 percent in January to 105,400. Most construction categories were flat, but the number working for building foundation and exterior contractors decreased 3.1 percent.

Employment in Las Vegas casino hotels and gaming moved down 0.1 percent to 175,800. Food services and drinking places enjoyed a 4.8 percent surge in employment to 72,900

Government jobs rose by 5.5 percent to 93,500 with jobs in the local government subcategory growing by 6.4 percent.

Statewide, unemployment in January registered 4.5 percent seasonally adjusted, up from 4.4 percent in December. The latest jobless figure is one notch below the national average of 4.6 percent.

The state's unemployment level usually spikes in January during the post holiday lull and Northern Nevada winter, according to Terry Johnson, department director.

Unemployment hit 5 percent in the Reno-Sparks area in January, 6.2 percent in Carson City and 4.3 percent in the Elko area.

"The rural economy is in very good shape right now," but rural job numbers are less volatile than those in urban centers, Shabi said.

"Mining is doing particularly well right now," Shabi said. Also, "you don't have much populaton movement into these (rural) areas."