CARSON CITY – Unemployment in the Las Vegas area fell to 12.1 percent in April, the third straight month of a decline.
The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported today that preliminary figures show there were 804,600 workers in Southern Nevada, a slight decline from 805,500 in March.
“A tepid economic recovery continued to take hold in Nevada in April,” said William Anderson, chief economist for the department.
Statewide, unemployment fell to 12.5 percent, down from 13.2 percent in March.
“On the down side, the labor force continued to drop, adding to the roughly 44,000 who exited the workforce in the last 12 months. However, Nevada’s recent improvement is at last beginning to align with the national trends,” Anderson said. “As expected, Nevada lags the recovery, but the gap, at least measured by the unemployment rate, is beginning to narrow.”
The national jobless rate in April was 9 percent.
In the Las Vegas area, the preliminary figures show the number of employees in hotels and casinos rose by 400 in April, to 158,800. Construction employment fell from 40,700 to 39,200. There were 142,900 workers in utilities, transportation and trade jobs, down 600 from the previous month.
Manufacturing in Southern Nevada experienced a slight decline of 100 employees, totaling 18,100 in April.
The department reported unemployment in the Reno-Sparks area dropped to 11.7 percent, compared to 13.1 percent in March. Carson City’s jobless rate declined from 13.2 percent in March to 11.7 percent in April.
Anderson said there were 3,600 new jobs in March statewide.
“Consumers appear to be moving into a better financial position,” he said. “Lower household debt loads and waning job uncertainty is allowing consumers to burn off some pent up demand.”