Report: Carson City, Reno and Vegas pack on the jobs in January, growth best in nation
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 03/12/2019 - 3:43pm
Carson City aded 500 news jobs for the first month of 2019, according to figures released Tuesday by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Reno added 1,000 jobs over the month and Las Vegas, 3,400.
According to DETR's January 2019 economic report, statewide, jobs increased by 3.9 percent, which correlates to 53,300 new jobs added since January of last year and the fastest rate in the nation.
The largest over the month job gain in the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) was realized in Las Vegas, at 3,400. Reno added 1,000 jobs over the month while Carson City added 500 jobs.
“January employment growth was robust with all the of the state’s MSAs showing seasonally adjusted increases that are faster than the national rate of 1.9 percent," said David Schmidt, DETR's chief economist. "Ongoing rapid employment growth with low overall unemployment rates continue to paint a picture of a tight labor market, which should continue to support improving job prospects for working Nevadans across the state."
In terms of the rate of growth, the Reno MSA added jobs at a faster clip than the state in January, and the rate of 6.5 percent was the fastest growth rate in the MSA’s history, topping the previous peak of 6.4 percent in January 1996.
The data also shows growth in employment over the last year was seen in all three of the Silver State’s MSAs with the Reno MSA growing at the fastest rate of 6.5 percent, Las Vegas growing at 3.3 percent, and Carson City at 2.3 percent compared to the national rate of 1.9 percent.
Unemployment rates in all but one of Nevada’s counties fell over the year, with Pershing county experiencing no change in its unemployment rate of 5.0 percent. Changes ranged from a decrease of 0.1 percent in Lincoln County to a decrease of 1.1 percent in Lander County.
On a month over month basis there were increases in many sub-state areas unemployment rates in line with seasonal patterns. Unemployment rates for the state’s metropolitan areas and counties are not adjusted for seasonality, and are not directly comparable to the adjusted state rate.
Other findings: Job Growth in January (Seasonally-Adjusted):
— Carson City is up 500 jobs over the month, and is up 700 jobs over the year (2.3 percent).
— Reno added 1,000 jobs over the month and 15,400 over the year (6.5 percent).
— Las Vegas is up 3,400 jobs over the month and is up 32,700 over the year (3.3 percent).
Unemployment:
— Carson City: 5 percent, which up 0.5 percentage point from December and down 0.8 percentage point from a year ago.
— Reno: 4 percent; up 0.6 percentage point from December, and down 0.5 percentage from this time last year.
— Las Vegas: 4.7 percent; up 0.2 percentage point from December, and down 0.7 percentage point from a year ago.
— Unemployment rates in 7 of 16 counties remain at or below the national unadjusted rate of 4.4 percent.
— Unemployment rates declined on an over-the-year basis in 16 of 17 counties, and remained constant in Pershing County.
— Eureka County, at 2.8 percent, held the State’s lowest unemployment rate, and Lyon at 6.3 percent had the highest.
— Lander County had the largest drop in unemployment of 1.1 percent; going from 5.3 percent in January 2018 to 4.2 percent in January 2019.
— Accommodation and food services is the highest share of total private employment in the Las Vegas MSA, while also having the highest average weekly wage when compared to similarly populated cities.
— Growth in employment and the number of worksites has been slower from 2014 to 2018 than it was from 2002 to 2006. Storey County leads the way in growth of small business employment and number of worksites in both time periods.
— Nevada’s all-time low unemployment rate, stands at 3.6 percent in late-1998. The county with the lowest all-time low rate is Storey at 1.1 percent in mid-1990. Fourteen counties have an all-time low rate below the state’s rate.
