“We were the hardest hit state in the nation during the recession,” Anderson said. “And now, we’re starting to move up the rankings in terms of our job group.”
The highest unemployment numbers in Nevada are in Lyon and Mineral counties. As of March, Nevada’s unemployment rate stands at 9.7 percent, followed by California, Illinois and Mississippi, also with high unemployment rates. Anderson said Nevada’s unemployment rate has been declining faster than any other in the nation.
“In terms of the unemployment rate, so far this year we’re trending about two percent point below where we were a year ago,” Anderson said. “We’re starting to narrow that gap in respect to the nation and other states.”
Currently, leisure and hospitality jobs lead the way in Nevada job growth with about 9,000 more positions reported in the first quarter of 2013 than at the same time last year. According to Anderson, negative numbers recorded in some of Nevada’s job sectors may be related to the loss of temporary positions normally added during the holiday season. Anderson said he believes this may actually be a good thing because current job growth numbers likely represent the addition of more permanent positions.
“I characterize the kind of growth that we’re seeing as steady but moderate,” Anderson said. “We’re making up some of our lost ground.”
For more information, read Stephanie Glantz’s coverage on Storify
