Jobless could populate Minden

Douglas County's jobless could populate the town of Minden with change left over, according to figures released on Friday.

With 15 percent unemployment, the county had 3,410 jobless workers in May, the latest month available. Minden's population was 3,229 in 2009.

That's down a tenth of a percent from April, and represents 10 workers. There were 60 more jobs in Douglas in April.

Nevada's unemployment rate is the highest in the nation, with 14 percent of the workforce looking for a job.

Over the past year, nearly 37,000 people have been added to the list of those without work, bringing the statewide total 189,300.

The state is not alone in its economic woes. Sixteen other states have double-digit unemployment, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

The rate actually fell slightly in May in Carson City and the Reno/Sparks area as businesses added seasonal hires.

In Carson City, the number of people employed in the leisure and hospitality industry ticked up about 100, as did the lodging industry in Reno/Sparks. The Reno area was further aided by the hiring of about 600 people by the federal government - primarily census workers. Those jobs are temporary and will go away in a few months.

Lyon County, which has had Nevada's highest unemployment rate for more than a year, got a slight break in May as the rate dropped a full percent to 18.3 percent. There are 4,270 out of work in that 23,270 person labor force. It still represents the highest unemployment rate in the state.

Elko, with its strong mining base, is in much better shape than the rest of the state with an unemployment rate of just 8.3 percent. High gold prices - recently at $1,246 an  ounce - are providing that area with stability the rest of the state lacks.

The problem area, however, was the state's largest labor market - Las Vegas - where unemployment was at 14.1 percent for May. The Las Vegas area has more than 980,000 of the state's 1.37 million workers.

Statewide, 14 percent (seasonally adjusted) and 13.8 percent without the adjustment for hiring by summer businesses, is another new record. In setting it, Nevada passed Michigan which, for the past 50 months, has held the dubious honor of the worst unemployment rate in the U.S.

To get to that point, Nevada's rate increased 8.8 percent since December 2007, the largest increase of any state over that period, according to Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

But during that same period, he said the number of people in Nevada's labor force has increased more than 5 percent.

"In essence, there are more Nevadans in a labor market with fewer jobs," he said.

One reason, he said, is that the seasonal hiring this year was less than 4,800 workers compared to the 20-year average of 7,600.

The year-over-year increase in May was just 2.5 percent statewide, indicating that the rate unemployment is rising has slowed significantly compared to the two years before that.