Nevada employer numbers increase

The number of employers in Nevada set a new record, reaching 61,200 in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The previous record was set in the second quarter of 2008 at 60,600 employers.

“Prior to the recession, employer counts were increasing non-stop,” said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. “In fact, by the time the economic downturn hit, the number of employers had increased in every year for at least a decade. After peaking in 2008 at 60,500, the number of employers declined sharply, to 56,300 in 2011, as the recession took hold.”

For all of 2014, employer counts averaged 60,200. This translates into an increase of nearly 7 percent relative to the 2011 recessionary low.

This trend is consistent with other measures showing improvement in the labor market. For example, the unemployment rate has been cut in half since the recession ended, and nearly 100,000 new jobs have been created, Anderson added.