Nevada jobless figures fall to 8.8 percent in December, Carson City sees slight increase
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Mon, 01/27/2014 - 9:24am
While unemployment fell to 8.8 percent statewide in December, the lowest since November 2008, the jobless rate in Carson City climbed from 9.1 to 9.3 percent, according to Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation figures released Monday.
Unemployment rates for the state’s metropolitan areas, including Carson City, are not adjusted for seasonality therefore the overall decrease in jobless figures are outside the main population cores. Reno's unemployment went from 8.2 to 8.4 percent, and Las Vegas, 8.6 to 8.9 percent.
Even with the metro area increases, the state ended the year with four consecutive monthly declines in the unemployment rate and the lowest reading since November 2008, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.
In December, Nevada’s rate of unemployment fell from 9 percent to a seasonally adjusted 8.8 percent. For all of 2013, Nevada’s unemployment rate averaged 9.4 percent, down from 11.1 percent the prior year.
“I am pleased that Nevada ended 2013 on a positive note,” Gov. Brian Sandoval said. “The unemployment rate declined in each of the year’s final four months, to its lowest reading since late 2008 and jobs were added for three straight months at the end of 2013. While this is good news for our state, our unemployment rate is still too high. As 2014 begins, all indications suggest additional improvement, with trends pointing to further job growth and a continued decrease in the unemployment rate.”
The annual unemployment rate declined in each of Nevada’s 17 counties compared to 2012. Nye County recorded the largest over-the-year annual decrease (2.1 percentage points). Ten counties had rate declines of at least one percentage point, and an additional seven counties had declines between 0.1 and 0.8 point. Lyon County has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 13 percent, while Esmeralda’s annual rate was the lowest at 3.7 percent in 2013.
However, for December, the unemployment rate increased in the metro areas because figures for the state’s metropolitan areas are not adjusted for seasonality. For comparison purposes, the state’s unadjusted unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in December, up from 8.5 percent in November.
“Preliminary indications suggest that seasonal holiday hiring in the final months of 2013 was relatively strong,” Anderson said. “All told, about 14,100 jobs were added between September and December in those trade/transportation industries typically home to most holiday-related hiring; this is the strongest gain in the post-recessionary period.”
Preliminary figures suggest that another 18,900 private sector positions were created during the past calendar year. Anderson said that number is expected to rise during the annual revision process in the coming weeks.
“It appears that gross job losses have receded to ‘normal’ levels, and are hovering around pre-recession lows,” Anderson said. “However, gross job gains, a proxy for hiring activity, remain stubbornly low. Although job trends have turned positive, hiring activity needs to pick up to see more noticeable net gains.”
