Nevada jobless rate steady, valley’s numbers up

Nevada's jobs markets stayed in neutral in June.

Overall job growth couldn't drive unemployment down, and job cuts in some sectors as well as labor-force gains put the brakes on short-term improvement.

The Silver State's jobless rate held at a seasonally adjusted 11.6 percent from May to June, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said Friday. In Las Vegas, joblessness rose to 12.1 percent, up from 11.8 percent in May. The local gain came from seasonal fluctuations. The agency doesn't seasonally adjust local rates.

Nevada's jobless trend mirrored the nation's: U.S. joblessness stayed at 8.2 percent from May to June.

"If we look nationwide, it appears as though we're pretty much going horizontally in terms of the unemployment rate, and barring some dramatic change, it's pretty much going to go horizontally through the fall," said Steve Brown, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "We (in Nevada) seem to be reflecting that experience right now, but at pretty high unemployment rates."

Nevada did show job growth from May to June, adding 200 new private sector jobs. Compared with June 2011, private-sector jobs are up by 17,500. That's the strongest year-to-year gain in 2012, said Bill Anderson, the employment department's chief economist. The private sector added 14,000 jobs in the first half of 2012, compared with 12,000 jobs in the first half of 2011.

The growth has come partly from more than two years of nearly nonstop visitation gains in Southern Nevada, where the hospitality industry added 20,000 jobs year to year. Other industries showing improvement include professional and business services, which had 5,000 more jobs year over year, and health care and social assistance, up 3,100 jobs.

Offsetting gains were cuts in other industries. Losers included construction, with 3,300 fewer jobs year to year in the first half of 2012, and finance, which lost 1,700 jobs year over year in June.

Plus, the state's labor force grew by 2,000 from May to June. With more people seeking work, unemployment can stay steady or rise amid job growth.

Still, Brown said Nevada outpaced the nation for growth in economic activity in the second quarter, and the state could best U.S. expansion rates in the third quarter. That's because California and Arizona, two key feeder markets for tourists, continue to improve faster than the rest of the country.

"We've shown a little bit of strength. The reduction in the national unemployment rate from March to June was smaller than the reduction in Nevada's rate, so we gained on the nation in the second quarter, not because we did really well, but because the nation is doing so poorly," Brown said.

U.S. unemployment was unchanged, at 8.2 percent, from March to June. In Nevada, joblessness declined from 12 percent in March to 11.6 percent in June.

What's more, unemployment in Las Vegas fell 2.3 percentage points year over year in June, for the largest annual drop since unemployment peaked at 14.5 percent in July 2011, noted Brian Gordon, a principal in local research firm Applied Analysis.

"We're seeing modest growth overall, but it's been relatively consistent, which may be the bright spot in the employment picture," Gordon said. "The fact that overall employment has trended in positive territory for 12 consecutive months suggests the economy is starting to find its footing."

Nevada still leads the nation in joblessness. Rhode Island is No. 2, at 10.9 percent. Twenty-seven states saw unemployment rise from May to June, while 11 states posted jobless declines, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A dozen states saw no change.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@review journal.com or 702-380-4512. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.