Nev. jobless rate hits record 13.7 pct in April; Las Vegas’ unemployment reaches 14.2 percent

Nevada jobless rate hits record 13.7 pct in April

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Jobless rates in Nevada hit records in April, climbing to 13.7 percent statewide and 14.2 percent in Las Vegas, the state reported Friday.

The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said 193,000 people are out of work around the state, including more than 140,000 in the Las Vegas area alone.

“While the consensus may be that the recession is nearing the end, employment has not begun to show any signs of real improvement,” said Bill Anderson, chief economist for the agency.

Nevada’s jobless rate was 13.4 percent in March and 11 percent a year ago. Nationally, unemployment was 9.9 percent in April.

Elliott Parker, an economist at the University of Nevada, Reno, called the report depressing.

Nevada’s jobless rate is at a new post-depression record and could overtake Michigan, which has slowly seen its jobless rate fall, as having the highest unemployment rate in the nation, he said.

“The rest of the country has been adding jobs for five of the last six month,” Parker said. “Nevada has been losing jobs since March 2008, and we are continuing to do so.

“While there have been some bright spots in the darkness these past couple of months, like the start of a recovery in gaming and tourism in Las Vegas, this report was just depressing,” Parker said.

Las Vegas’ leisure industries added 1,100 jobs in April, bringing the total to 154,000.

Nevada’s tourist-driven economy has been hard hit by the recession and a housing boom that went bust. Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate in April, with one in every 69 households receiving a foreclosure notice.

In the Reno-Sparks area, the jobless rate inched up to 13.5 percent, from 13.3 percent in March. Carson City and Elko remained steady at 13.4 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.

Nevada’s construction industry remains depressed, falling to 1995 levels. Since the height of Nevada’s housing boom in June 2006, the industry has lost 86,100 jobs, plunging from 148,800 to 62,700.

April brought a slight uptick in state government jobs, likely due to the startup of road construction projects, said economists who added that an increase in local government job losses is expected as counties and cities struggle to balance shrinking budgets.

Local governments have lost 5,500 jobs, or 5.2 percent, in the last year and 1,000 in April alone, Anderson said.