The number of unemployed workers in Nevada closed in on the 100,000 mark in July. There are currently 94,900 people unemployed compared to 67,700 this time last year, according to a report issued by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. The mood in the employment market has turned more pessimistic recently, with the delay of several construction projects, including the freeze of the Echelon project. The one bright spot is the fact that the number of existing home sales have increased over the past six months.

Nevada’s employment rate stood 0.6 percent higher than the national average and a full point higher than January of 2007. The numbers, which were released in the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation’s monthly employment report, showed that areas outside of Las Vegas were particularly hard hit. The unemployment rate in the Reno-Sparks area shot up to 6.6 percent, and to 7.5 percent in Carson City.

As expected, the construction sector took another beating, losing 4,600 jobs, falling behind retail, which lost 4,700 jobs after the holiday shopping season. Government jobs were hardest hit, with 5,700 fewer state workers in January.

It looks like the slump in new home construction is still putting pressure on the state’s employment outlook, but the picture may turn a bit brighter in the coming months. With the opening of the Palazzo, the sister property of the Venetian Resort, expected to bring about 4,000 jobs to the strip, combined with the hiring related to the holiday retail season, experts predict improvement in employment measures. You can read the entire press release from the Nevada Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation after the break.

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Nevada’s unemployment rate rose for
the fifth consecutive month, hitting 5-percent in August as a housing
slump continued and growth in the state’s labor pool outpaced job gains.

The
state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported
Friday that the seasonally adjusted rate, up from 4.9 percent in July,
was the highest since November 2003, and exceeded the national rate of
4.6 percent in August.

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