Nevada unemployment rate drops to 5 percent in January, lowest since late 2007
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 03/08/2017 - 9:28am
Unemployment for the first month of 2017 in Nevada fell to 5 percent, the lowest it has been since late 2007, according to figures released Wednesday by the state's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.
The state gained a seasonally-adjusted 1,000 jobs relative to December.
“This announcement is a major milestone in our state’s recovery. Nevada ended 2016 with record levels of employment and I’m pleased to see that our momentum has carried over into early-2017,” said Gov. Brian Sandoval. “January job levels are up 44,400 over a year ago. In fact, gains have exceeded 40,000 in each of the past seven months. This is good news for Nevada’s economy, but we must remain vigilant in our efforts to continue bringing high-wage, quality employment to the Silver State.”
All of the state’s supersectors have added jobs over the year, with construction experiencing the greatest percentage growth. It is up 7.3 percent over the year. Leisure and hospitality saw the most nominal growth, adding 10,000 jobs since January 2016.
“The Silver State’s job growth has exceeded the national average for 54 consecutive months,” said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. “Further, the gap between the national unemployment rate and the Nevada rate has nearly disappeared, down from 4.4 percentage points at the height of the recession, to a minimal 0.2 percentage point in January, as the jobless rate has declined in 71 straight months.”
Total seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs reached a new all-time high of 1.32 million in January, up 44,400 jobs, or 3.5 percent, relative to the same month last year. This is the 73rd consecutive month of year-over-year employment gains that have been recorded in the Silver State.
In a month where we would expect to lose 21,900 jobs (due, in part, to a reversal of holiday-related hiring), Nevada payrolls actually contracted by just 20,900, according to preliminary estimates, leading to a seasonally adjusted increase of 1,000 jobs relative to December.
