Las Vegas Unemployment Rate Hits 15 Percent

Statewide Jobless Numbers Unchanged

POSTED: 7:38 am PDT October 22, 2010
UPDATED: 7:41 am PDT October 22, 2010

LAS VEGAS -- While unemployment statewide remained unchanged in September, jobless numbers in Las Vegas rose to 15 percent, a new record.

As if that number weren’t bad enough, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation projects further job loss in 2011, with no growth in employment seen until 2013.

Tourism and construction, two industries that propelled growth from the 90s into the last decade, continued to bear the brunt of the jobless crisis, losing 1,600 and 1,500 jobs last month, respectively.

The only silver lining in DETR’s report was the statewide unemployment rate, which held steady at 14.4 percent. It marked the first time since January that the rate did not increase, the agency reported.

Since January, the state’s jobless numbers have risen 1.4 percentage points, a small number over such a lengthy span. But within that timeframe, Nevada surged ahead of Michigan with the nation’s highest unemployment, and its continued economic woes became the focus of the November election.

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