Initial Nevada jobless claims fall 7.8 percent in February

CARSON CITY — Initial claims for jobless benefits in Nevada fell 7.8 percent in February compared with the same month a year ago. A report released Thursday by the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation stated that 15,993 initial claims for unemployment were filed in February.

State economist Bill Anderson said that the month of February marks the 36th time in the past 39 months that initial claims have been lower than the year before.

Initial jobless claims in Nevada peaked in December 2008 at more than 36,000. Anderson said the rate of initial claims remains higher than it was before the recession, but that the rate has been falling for several years and the rate of improvement has accelerated in the past three months.