Jobless rate is lowest in 5 years

In September, Nevada recorded its lowest unemployment number since December 2008.

The 9.3 percent seasonally adjusted rate is down 0.2 percent from August. The raw number is even lower, at 9.1 percent, a reduction of 0.4 percent from August. Both those numbers are 1.3 percent lower than a year ago.

The statewide unemployment numbers for September were available, but the government shutdown delayed calculation of the different metropolitan areas within Nevada. The federal Bureau of Labor Standards won’t release those numbers until Friday.

With the resumption of high school and university classes, the actual number of jobs in the state declined in September by 8,800. The majority of those losses were in Clark County, which lost 7,600 jobs. The Reno-Sparks reporting area lost about 600 jobs, but Carson City actually added 200 jobs in September.

Despite the statewide decrease in total jobs, the number of people working increased by 1.4 percent compared with the previous September. Economist Bill Anderson said that is another sign the state’s economy continues to improve.

The state’s work force was 1.36 million in September.