Nevada unemployment in December lowest since June 2008
Nevada’s unemployment rate fell slightly to a seasonally adjusted 6.4 percent in December, the lowest it has been since June 2008, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.
December marks the 60th straight month of year-over-year job gains. Construction continues to lead the state in terms of percentage growth, up 8.6 percent with the addition of 5,500 jobs over the year in December. Leisure and hospitality maintained the highest nominal growth over the year, adding 9,600 positions, for a growth rate of 2.8 percent.
“Nevada’s labor force is surging,” Anderson said. “For all of 2015, preliminary estimates suggest that the Silver State’s labor force is up by nearly 26,000 relative to 2014. Despite the fact that this limits downward pressure on the jobless rate, this is a positive development, as it suggests there is growing confidence in the overall health of the labor market and job prospects.”
For all of 2015, the state’s unemployment rate averaged 6.8 percent, down a full percentage point from 2014. This is a remarkable improvement from the height of the recession, when the jobless rate peaked at 13.7 percent during the second- half of 2010.