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Unemployment declines in Las Vegas metro area

Unemployment has declined in the Las Vegas metro area month over month and year over year.

The area posted 5.2 percent unemployment, or 55,900 people looking for work compared to 1.01 million people with a job, according to a report from the state’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

The unemployment rate decreased from July by 0.2 of a percentage point from July and half a percentage point from August 2016. Those amounts don’t take into account changes in season, according to the report.

The state’s unadjusted unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in July. Adjusting the unemployment rate for seasonal change put the state unemployment rate at 4.8 percent.

Las Vegas added 28,400 jobs over the year, a 3 percent growth rate.

Most of the jobs added came from industries that provide services, which saw an increase of 18,500 employees, a 2.1 percent increase.

Within the services sector, employment services saw the highest percent change in employment with 9.4 percent year over year, or 1,300 new employees.

By volume, administrative and support services added 6,700 employees year over year, a 9.3 percent change.

Goods-producing industries added 11,800 jobs to payrolls, a 15 percent change year over year.

By volume, construction added 10,900 employees, a 19.5 percent change. By percent increase, natural resources and mining grew by 33 percent, adding 100 jobs.

In Clark County, half of employment came from small business, a little below the state average. Weekly wages in Clark County for the first quarter of this year averaged at $922, a 6.5 percent increase over 2016.

The state average was about the same. Weekly wages ranged from $690 in Lincoln County to $2,710 in Eureka County, due to the well-paying mining industry.

Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4602. Follow @wademillward on Twitter.

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