Unemployment rate rises slightly to 7.7 percent in March

The Nye County unemployment rate rose slightly after dropping to its the lowest percentage in eight years last month.

Nye County’s unemployment rate increased 0.2 percent in March from February to 7.7 percent, according to numbers released last week by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. This is significantly lower than March 2015’s rate of 8.8 percent.

This small increase is after the rate fell a full percentage point from January’s 8.5 percent to February’s 7.5 percent, which was the lowest recorded unemployment rate since December 2007.

However, Nye County’s labor force in March was larger at 16,366, of which 15,102 were employed, while 1,264 were unemployed. February saw a labor force of 15,978, which included 14,775 who were employed and 1,203 who were without jobs.

Bill Anderson, chief economist with the employment department, said that focusing too much on the monthly influx of the number is not as important as the overall picture.

“When you go from month-to-month over the course of the year, some months the rate tends to go up and some months it tends to go down, but I think what’s most important is to look at that underlying trend rather than focusing on just one month,” Anderson said. “If you make a comparison to a year ago, which I think is a more valid comparison …there is a general downward trend.”

For the year, the unemployment rate sits at 7.9 percent, down from the first three months of 2015 that saw an 8.7 percent unemployment rate.

Anderson explained that Nye was one of the counties in the state that was hit hardest by the recession.

“We’ve seen considerable improvement over time and I think that is attributable to just a general improvement in the overall economy,” he said. “Statewide we are seeing job growth in nearly every sector of the economy, with the lone exception being the mining sector.

“Elsewhere, we are seeing growth in about every sector and not only in our more traditional industries, construction and leisure and hospitality, but in other sectors like professional business services, trade and transportation, utilities, health care and things of that nature.”

Statewide, the unemployment also rose 0.2 percent, going from 5.7 percent in February to 5.9 percent in March. Clark County’s rate grew slightly more than Nye and the state, as their numbers jumped 0.4 percent from 5.6 percent in February to 6 percent in March.

One large factor in jobs locally is the small business segment, one that Anderson explained was thriving since the recession.

“Small business reached a record high in the second half of 2015,” he said. “About 75,000 small business jobs were lost during the recession and we’ve since added back about 82,000 small business jobs (statewide).”

The number in labor force tends to fluctuate in various seasons, as around summer high school and college-age kids are out of school and take up summer jobs, while around the holidays the number increases as many take up temporary retail jobs as well, Anderson said.

Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.