Nevada jobless rate steady; trust fund at record high

Nevada has reached another milestone in economic recovery after recording a steady unemployment rate, state officials say.

The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation announced Wednesday that Nevada’s unemployment rate in June was at a seasonally adjusted 4.7 percent.

This is the third month in a row the rate has held steady, with June’s rate a full percentage point down from a year ago. Also, Nevada had the second-strongest year-to-date decline in the unemployment rate in the nation through May.

In a couple of weeks, June unemployment numbers are expected to be released for individual Nevada counties.

In a statement, Gov. Brian Sandoval said Nevada’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is at a record high following a decline in unemployment.

“As job levels have surged to record highs and the unemployment rate has been cut by nine full percentage points from its peak, Nevada’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund has improved markedly and ended this year’s second quarter with a record balance of $886 million, a far cry from the depths of the recession when the fund had a negative balance of $800 million,” Sandoval said in a statement.

Nevada’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund uses taxes collected from employers to finance unemployment insurance benefits, and is administered by the state.

Another sign of Nevada’s economic recovery is its improving long-term unemployment rate. The rate in June was at 1.2 percent with 16,600 people, down 5.8 percentage points from the peak.

Employment rates in the state reached a record high, with seasonally adjusted gain of 10,600 jobs in June. This brings the total nonfarm employment to 1,342,100. Year-over-year job gains saw a growth of 3.8 percent in June, with employment 48,700 higher than the previous year.

Nevada has seen year-over-year job gains for the past 78 months.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.