State employers up record amount

Nevada set a third straight quarterly record for its number of employers, but the valley hasn't seen a similar trend.

The state had 62,500 employers in its unemployment insurance system in the second quarter, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported Thursday.

That base was up 4.3 percent, or 2,600 employers, compared with the same period a year earlier. It was the fifth consecutive quarter in which year-to-year growth surpassed 4 percent.

Pahrump didn't see the same growth, as the number of active business licenses actually dropped compared to the same time last year.

In July there were 1890 active business licenses compared to July 2014 where there were 1898 active licenses. That represents a less than one percent decrease.

The prior record came in the first quarter, with 61,900 employers. The fourth quarter was also a record, with 61,200 employers.

Nevada now has 1,900, or 3.1 percent, more employers than it had at its pre-recession peak in 2008.

Employer counts have grown 11.6 percent since bottoming out at 56,000 in 2011.

"The growth in the number of employers in the state points to continued improvement in Nevada's economy," said Bill Anderson, the employment department's chief economist.

Unemployment in Nye County is 8.7 percent according to the last posted numbers from June, with 1,432 persons without jobs out of the 16,430 person workforce in the area.

Times reporter Mick Akers contributed to this report.