State unemployment rate stays at 14.4 percent; Carson sees increase

Statewide unemployment held steady at 14.4 percent in September - only the second time the number of jobless didn't rise month to month since the recession began in 2007.

That number, however, is the seasonally adjusted rate. The raw rate actually did rise from 14.2 percent in August to 14.5 percent in September.

That three-tenths jump in the raw rate was consistent statewide. Carson City saw an increase to 13.4 percent, reflecting reductions in the capital's largest employer, state government. There are now 3,810 out of work in Carson City.

In the Las Vegas reporting area, a three-tenths increase took the rate to 15 percent, an all-time high for that market. A total of 145,360 of Nevada's jobless live there.

The Elko region, which includes Eureka County, also increased three-tenths but that takes the area, which is still riding the mining boom, to just 7.9 percent. Elko has 2,200 out of work.

Reno/Sparks saw an increase to 13.6 percent.

The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation estimates there are now 196,200 Nevadans looking for work.

DETR Economist Bill Anderson said while those numbers aren't good, growth in unemployment has begun to subside, suggesting some stabilization.

"The slowing rate of increase suggests the labor market may finally be bottoming out," he said.

He said employment declined in all private sector industry groups except professional and business services and manufacturing. Government employment also continued to decline with an additional 600 Census workers losing jobs in September.

The capital, however, presented a different picture. Here, government and professional business services cut back by about 100 jobs each while other industry sectors were unchanged from August.

Anderson said there are some signs of life showing with personal income at the national level increasing every month this calendar year - even in Nevada.

He said the question is when will that growth translate into the return of tourists to the Silver State.

"That translation has a lot to do with consumers' willingness and ability to pay for a trip to Nevada," Anderson said.

He said the good news there is that visitation to Las Vegas has increased nearly every month this year.