Douglas County's jobless rate dropped to the fifth highest in the state as the rate for Clark County passed it, according to figures released by the state this morning.
Unemployment in the county softened slightly, dropping to 14.7 percent in July from its peak of 15.1 percent in May.
The total labor force in Douglas increased by 40 people in July, up from 23,050. The number of jobless reporting to the state dropped by 60 people for an overall employment gain of 1000 people.
State analysts say that July marked the 16th straight month where the state's average of 14.4 percent set a record.
"Despite the historic run up in the unemployment rate, the reality of the recession's impacts on Nevada's workforce is much worse than presented," according to this morning's report.
Unemployment numbers only counts those jobless workers who are actively seeking work.
"It does not include workers who are too discouraged to seek employment and have given up searching, or workers employed part time for economic reasons," according to the report.
Nevada's actual unemployment through the second quarter of 2010 is closer to 21.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
