Nevada jobless rate rises to 12.1 percent in August

From staff and wire reports

Friday, Sept. 21, 2012 | 8:27 a.m.

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State officials say Nevada's jobless rate crept up to 12.1 percent in August, but the number is lower than it was at the same month last year.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate released Friday is 0.1 percentage points higher than July.

The number is still a drop from the August 2011 rate of 13.8 percent.

The Las Vegas unemployment rate was at 12.3 percent in August, while Reno's rate was 11.5 percent and Carson City's was 11.6 percent.

Jobless rates for all three areas dropped from July, but those numbers aren't directly comparable to the statewide rate because they're not seasonally adjusted.

"Nevada’s labor market appears to have softened in recent months. Job growth has eased, and the unemployment rate has ticked up," said William Anderson, an economist with the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Gov. Brian Sandoval said that while he was "disappointed that Nevada experienced another slight uptick in the unemployment rate, I am encouraged by the fact that we continue to see signs of modest economic improvement, measured on a year-over-year basis, in these numbers. The improvement, however, is not enough to sustain our economy, which is why we must continue to work to diversify our state’s economy and bring jobs to Nevada.”