Nevada unemployment rises to 13.2 percent in February; Las Vegas’ rate near 14 percent

Nevada jobless rate reaches 13.2 percent in Feb.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada’s statewide unemployment rate rose to 13.2 percent last month despite the addition of 10,400 jobs since January, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported Friday.

Unemployment in the Las Vegas area climbed to 13.9 percent, while the jobless rate in the Reno-Sparks area remained at 13.4 percent. Unemployment in Carson City fell to 13.7 percent from 13.8 percent, while rural Elko County’s jobless rate rose to 8.3 percent from 8.1 percent, the report said.

Bill Anderson, chief economist with the department, said it was the first time the state has gained jobs since October, but the additions in some sectors were offset by losses in others. Also driving the rate higher was an “influx of workers” entering or re-entering the labor force looking for jobs.

Nevada’s economy has been fueled in years past by a booming construction industry and the tourism and hospitality trades. But those industries were especially hard hit in the recession, and while the national economy has shown signs of improvement, Anderson said Nevada will continue to limp along.

Nevada leads the nation in foreclosures, and its jobless rate is second only to Michigan’s 14.1 percent.

“On a state-by-state comparison, no state’s fortunes have reversed as severely as Nevada’s during the recession,” Anderson said, adding that from 2006 to 2009, Nevada’s unemployment rated rose by 7.5 percentage points, the most of any state.

The national unemployment rate is 9.7 percent. Thought there’s been an uptick in the hiring of temporary workers, sales of existing homes and manufacturing nationally, “there remains severe weakness in the labor force,” Anderson said.

“The ramifications are not good for Nevada,” he said. “The longer it takes for the national economy to rebound, the longer it will take for Nevada’s leisure and hospitality dependent economy to recover.”

Nearly 4,000 jobs were added in state government, but Anderson attributed that growth to the start of the spring semester at the state’s colleges and universities. Leisure and hospitality added 2,700 jobs, professional and business services gained 2,200, and education and health services added 1,800.

But 1,100 jobs were shed in finance, trade, transportation and utilities.

Jobs in the construction industry held steady at 66,900. The industry has lost 24,000 jobs in the past year and nearly 82,000 since a peak in June 2006.

Anderson said while short-term prospects for new construction remain bleak, some stabilization is expected this spring because of road projects funded by federal stimulus money.