Magic Pot of Jobs

Although the state has seen an increasing unemployment rate and has continued to lose workers, there are still many opportunities to find Nevada jobs.

During July, the State of Nevada saw its unemployment rate increase from 11.9 percent to 12.5 percent, which was higher than the national unemployment rate at the time of 9.4 percent. The state hasn’t seen its unemployment rate decrease since December 2005, when it went from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent.

Nevada had a total non-farm employment of 1,187,300 workers during July, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 1,193,000 workers during June and a 6.4 percent decrease from last year.

(more…)

The amount of money a worker receives for a certain job often depends on where they live. Because of this the Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps track of weekly wages in a variety of different metro areas. According to the most recent report, based on pay, the best jobs in Nevada are located in Clark County. Individuals in this area make an average of $812 a week in September of 2008, which is when the most recent data is from.

According to the report, Clark County’s weekly salary rose 2 percent between September of 2007 and 2008. Washoe County, which came in second, saw an increase of 2.3 percent during this period of time. The average weekly pay in this area was $796. The national average for a weekly wage increased 2.8 percent during the same period of time. This means that the countrywide average salary for a week’s worth of work is not $841.

One reason that workers in Nevada made less a week might be that the area has a higher unemployment rate than the national average. With more job seekers on the market for employment, competition for available positions is higher. Since so many individuals are looking for work, employers don’t have to offer as much money for a position to attract the areas top talent.

Currently Nevada’s unemployment rate is 10.6 percent. During the month of April the figure rose 0.2 percent from March’s 10.4 percent. Over the course of the last 12 months the state has seen its total number of non-farm jobs shrink by 6.1 percent. At this time there are 1,200,900 Nevada jobs. The state’s civilian workforce is made up of around 1,252,400 people.

During the month of April the national unemployment rate was 8.9 percent, which goes to show that Nevada has been hit harder by the economic recession than many other areas throughout the country.

Nevada’s unemployment rate jumped 0.4 percent to 8 percent in November, marking this the first time since February 1984 the rate has hit the 8 percent threshold — a real hit to Nevada jobs. In February 1984, there were 40,000 unemployed. In today’s economy, the 8 percent jobless rate translates into 111,700 unemployed Nevadans, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for the state Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation (DETR). Nevada remained well above the national rate, which was at 6.7 percent in November.

The rise in unemployment was widespread, Anderson said.

“On December 1st, the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research announced what many in Nevada have known for months: the economy is in recession,” Anderson said. “Nevada’s unemployment rate is indicative of the nation’s failing economy and there’s very little optimism that things will turn around soon.”

Nationwide, employment fell by more than 500,000 for the first time since December 1974. Overall, employment has contracted by 1.9 million jobs so far this year. In November, the Nevada economy shed 2,700 jobs from the previous month and 15,300 from a year earlier, Anderson said.

“The construction industry continues to struggle having lost 15,900 jobs over the year, and, despite the planned opening of the Encore in Las Vegas and the new jobs it represents, the Casino Hotel and Gaming industry has shed 5,100 jobs from a year ago,” Anderson said.

One area of employment showing some growth is the Government sector, Anderson said. Employment has grown by 5,500 jobs over the year, with most of the jobs coming from local government, particularly the public school systems. State government added 300 jobs over the year. Despite annual growth in State government employment, a long-term analysis suggests government employment growth has lagged behind that of the economy as a whole.

Over the 2002-2007 period, state government employment grew at an average annual rate of 3.1 percent. Over the same period, total employment grew at a 4.2 percent rate. In Nevada, State government is a less prominent source of jobs than it is nationally (1.22 State government workers per 100 residents in Nevada in 2007, compared to 1.53 state government workers per 100 residents in the nation as a whole).

Furthermore, this measure of state government’s prominence as an employer in Nevada has been on the decline over the past several years. In 2002, there were 1.29 state government employees in Nevada for every 100 residents.

The rise in joblessness in Nevada has resulted in increased demands upon the State’s unemployment insurance system, said Cynthia Jones, Employment Security Division Administrator and DETR Deputy Director.

“Growth in ‘initial’ benefit payments has been increasing since 2006 in Nevada, and at a pace that has been significantly higher than in the nation as a whole,” she said. In the third quarter of this year, first payments were up 51 percent in Nevada. For the nation as a whole, first payment activity was up 30 percent. DETR sent out about 44,500 payments per week on average in November. Claims, payments and the benefit exhaustion rate all reached new historical highs.”

Jones added that Nevada’s unemployment insurance fund remains solvent, despite the increase in the number of payments. “Many states have run out of money or will run out of money as the number of people finding themselves unemployed continues to mount,” Jones said. “Nevada is fortunate that we do not expect to experience such a hardship. We collect taxes from employers in a way that allows us to remain solvent during difficult
times.”