Nevada unemployment creeps up to 6.5 percent in July

By Cy Ryan

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016 | 3:02 p.m.

CARSON CITY — The unemployment rate in Nevada inched up to 6.5 percent in July from the previous month, the third consecutive month of increases.

An estimated 92,700 people were jobless last month, 1,300 more than in June, when the rate was 6.4 percent, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported today.

The number of people working stood at 1,342,900, some 2,000 fewer than in June but 31,900 more than last July, officials said.

Gov. Brian Sandoval said he was encouraged by the job growth compared to last year. “We are on the verge of regaining all of the more than 175,000 jobs lost during the recession,” he said.

But, he said, the unemployment rate was “still too high” and the state would continue it efforts to create more jobs.

The national jobless rate was 4.9 percent last month.

The agency’s chief economist, Bill Anderson, said he expected once the final figures are compiled for this year, they will show the unemployment rate for 2016 has declined.