Nevada finishes year at 4.7 percent unemployment

Nevada finished 2017 at 4.7 percent unemployment with 14 of the state’s 17 counties reporting increased employment during the year.

The raw jobless rate, not seasonally adjusted, was down in all counties.

Statewide, the rate is down four-tenths compared to December 2016.

Total statewide employment grew by 43,800 during the year, a 3.3 percent increase that brings the state to just more than 1.36 million job holders.

The vast majority of added jobs were in Clark County, a bit more than 30,000 of that total.

But, while added jobs in the Reno area were much smaller at 5,800, that reporting area did much better by percentage, finishing the year at just 3.7 percent unemployment compared to 4.9 percent in Las Vegas.

Reno has just 9,000 workers looking as of the end of the year while Las Vegas had 53,400 jobless. Reno’s 3.7 percent is actually 1.1 percent down from a year ago.

In Carson City, the increase was much more modest at 700 additional jobs. The capital finished 2017 at 4.9 percent as well. That’s 1.1 percent down from December 2016 and translates to 1,180 people seeking work.

Meanwhile, the Elko reporting area was also down a full percent — to just 3.3 percent unemployment.

Churchill County’s jobless rate fell from 5.5 percent to just 4.2 percent, leaving just 442 jobseekers there at year’s end.

Douglas County improved from 5.3 percent unemployment to 4.4 percent by December, leaving 989 looking for work.

Lyon County’s recovery was more dramatic, falling from 7.2 percent in December 2016 to 5.6 percent this past December. That translates to 1,225 without work there.

Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said Nevada had the nation’s second fastest growing population during 2017, adding 60,000 residents during the year.