Nevada jobless rate continues to climb

An additional 16,100 Nevadans joined the ranks of the unemployed during December, sending the unemployment rate up a full percentage point to 9.1.

"All told, roughly 128,000 Nevadans found themselves looking for work in December," said Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

The impact of the increase in those without jobs reaches well beyond the employment insurance fund, which has more than $500 million in it. Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services say that for every person who loses a job, Medicaid sees a 1.2 person increase in its caseload, and Welfare sees a new customer for every two people out of work.

That means December layoffs could add nearly 20,000 to Medicaid's caseload and 8,000 to the welfare rolls.

"With a 1 percent increase in unemployment, you can bet our caseload is going to go through the moon," said HHS Director Mike Willden.

Willden's budget already includes some $280 million in added money to accommodate caseload growth.

"That's why we need a very clear plan on job creation this session," said Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, reached a similar conclusion: "We'd better cut out the giveaways in the stimulus and dedicate the money to those things that create jobs."

Carson City was a bit worse off than the state as a whole with 9.4 percent, or 2,800 of the 29,700-person workforce looking for a job. That is a 1.2 percent increase from November.

Hardest hit is Lyon County, where unemployment at December's end was 12.1 percent. Elko, still buoyed by the mining boom, reported just 4.4 percent unemployment.

The Las Vegas reporting area saw a 1.2 percent jump to 9.1 percent and the Reno-Sparks area increased to 9 percent.

Nevada's rate, nearly 2 percent above the 7.2 percent national rate, is the highest since September 1983. California is even worse off, reporting total unemployment of 9.3 percent.

Anderson said employment has been rising year-over-year for the past 10 months. The rate in December 2007 was just 5.2 percent.

Hardest hit is the construction industry. Anderson said construction jobs fell by more than 18,000 compared to December 2007 " 15 percent. While the biggest drop was in Clark and Washoe counties, Anderson said year-over-year declines of 400 jobs were reported in Douglas, 375 in Carson City and 300 in Storey and Lyon.

Anderson said Nevada's recovery will lag behind the national recovery because the state's tourism industries depend on "consumer sentiment and the willingness of consumers to spend disposable income."

He said the state's economy will stabilize in late 2009, but that he doesn't expect actual growth until "well into 2010."

Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.