Unemployment rate in Douglas County surpasses 8 percent

A lot of people in Douglas County were out of work going into the holidays.

The unemployment rate in Douglas County in November reached 8.3 percent, up from 5.4 percent for the same month last year, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation's Web site.

In November of 2007, 1,234 people in Douglas County were unemployed, out of a labor force of 23,012. By November of this year, the labor force had increased to 23,952, but the number of unemployed also increased to 1,995.

Statewide, unemployment in November reached 8 percent. That translates into 111,700 unemployed Nevadans, according to Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Nevada's unemployment rate remained above the national rate, which was 6.7 percent in November.

"Nevada's unemployment rate is indicative of the nation's failing economy and there's very little optimism that things will turn around soon," Anderson said in a press release. "The construction industry continues to struggle having lost 15,900 jobs over the year, and, despite the planned opening of the Encore in Las Vegas and the new jobs it represents, the casino hotel and gaming industry has shed 5,100 jobs from a year ago."

The increase in unemployment was wide-spread. Carson City's unemployment rate hit 8.1 percent in November, while the Reno-Sparks area reached 7.8 percent.

The high rates resulted in more demands on the state's unemployment insurance system.

"The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation sent out about 44,500 payments per week on average in November," said Cynthia Jones, an administrator for the state's employment security division. "Claims, payments and the benefit exhaustion rate all reached new historical highs."