Nevada sets record for number of employers 3 times in a row

Nevada set a third straight quarterly record for its number of employers.

The state had 62,500 employers in its unemployment insurance system in the second quarter, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported Thursday.

That base was up 4.3 percent, or 2,600 employers, compared with the same period a year earlier. It was the fifth consecutive quarter in which year-to-year growth surpassed 4 percent.

The prior record came in the first quarter, with 61,900 employers. The fourth quarter was also a record, with 61,200 employers.

Nevada now has 1,900, or 3.1 percent, more employers than it had at its pre-recession peak in 2008.

Employer counts have grown 11.6 percent since bottoming out at 56,000 in 2011.

"The growth in the number of employers in the state points to continued improvement in Nevada's economy," said Bill Anderson, the employment department's chief economist.

Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @_JRobison on Twitter.