CARSON CITY - In December, Nevada's rate of unemployment dropped from 9 percent to a seasonally adjusted 8.8 percent, the lowest reading since November 2008. The state ended the year with four consecutive monthly declines in the unemployment rate, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.
For all of 2013, Nevada's unemployment rate averaged 9.4 percent, down from 11.1 percent the prior year.
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. Las Vegas' rate increased from 8.6 percent to 8.9 percent, and in Reno, the rate went from 8.2 percent to 8.4 percent. Carson City's December rate rose from 9.1 percent to 9.3 percent. Unemployment rates 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."[[In-content Ad]]
