State joblessness at 3.9 percent

Nevada's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady in March at 3.9 percent.

But Carson City, which had been lagging behind the rest of the state, made up some ground, dropping from 5.2 percent in February to 4.9 percent. That translates to an increase of about 200 employed workers, for a total of 27,100 working in the Carson City area.

In Washoe County, only 3.8 percent of the 224,600 in the work force were without jobs in March.

In Southern Nevada, 3.9 percent of the 838,300 labor force was out of work.

Elko, booming with the resurgence of the mining industry, had the lowest unemployment rate for the month - just 3.5 percent. Only about 1,000 of the area's 27,000 workers were looking for jobs.

Most other rural areas of the state were also doing better, with Churchill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander and Nye counties all reporting decreases in unemployment.

Lyon County remained unchanged at 6.4 percent.

However, Lincoln, Storey, Mineral, Pershing and White Pine counties all posted increases.

Gov. Kenny Guinn said Nevada employers created more than 75,000 new jobs in the past year. The leader is the construction industry, with 20,000 of that total.

But Birgit Baker, director of the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said construction wasn't alone.

She said each major industry group, with the exception of the information industry, added at least 1,000 new jobs in Nevada in the past year. Construction, which includes telecommunications, has been cutting jobs since the collapse of the so-called "dot-com bubble."

Baker said this is the third month in a row Nevada's seasonally adjusted jobless rate has held at 3.9 percent. She pointed out that is 1.3 percent below the national average and just one-tenth shy of 2 percent below the unemployment rate in California.

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