Employment by manufacturing companies in Reno grew by 1 percent during the past year, says a study by Manufacturers News Inc. of Evanston, Ill.

The study was completed before International Game Technology, the largest manufacturing company in the state, laid off about 300 workers from its Reno operation.

Manufacturing employment in Reno stood at 10,547 in October, the publishing company said. That represents about 10 percent of the manufacturing jobs in the state.

Sparks accounts for another 5,357 manufacturing jobs. Its manufacturing employment fell by 3.4 percent since October 2007.

Statewide, manufacturing jobs increased by 291 — about 0.5 percent year-over-year, the

Manufacturers News survey found.While the growth rate is slowing,Nevada is one of a handful of states to have posted consistent gains in manufacturing employment in recent years.

From 2006 to 2007, the Manufacturers News study found a 1.4 percent increase in industrial jobs in the state. From 2005 to 2006, the growth rate was 4.1 percent.

Growing numbers of exports helped fuel the growth in manufacturing employment, said

Tom Dubin, president of Manufacturer News. He said the five-year growth of exports by Nevada companies — 182 percent — ranked second among U.S. states.

The state is home to 2,020 manufacturers, ranging from giants such as IGT to small startups with just a few employees, Dubin said.

Despite the slowdown in the gaming business this year,makers of gaming equipment posted a 5.7 percent growth in employment since last October, the survey found.

Other fast-growing sectors included signmakers and advertising specialties companies, which posted a 3.7 percent gain in employment.

The manufacturing sectors which lost jobs were led by transportation equipment companies, which reported an 11 percent decline in employment, and stone, glass and clay companies, where employment declined by 7.3 percent since October 2007.

Las Vegas, which accounts for more than 27 percent of Nevada’s industrial employment, saw a 1.4 percent decline in manufacturing jobs during the last year.