Douglas unemployment rates nudge upward

Douglas County's unemployment figures nudged up a tenth of a point to 12 percent in July .

According to figures released this morning, the county is in better shape than the state as a whole, where the unemployment increased to 12.5 percent.

"Nevada is in the midst of the longest, deepest recession since World War II, and recent labor market trends show no sign of improvement, particularly unemployment, which has surged at a record pace in recent months," said William Anderson, chief economist for the Nevada Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation. "Since April, the jobless rate increased 1.9 percentage points, adding 27,600 to the ranks of the unemployed. It's the largest three-month surge on a percentage basis going back to 1976."

Lyon County lost the dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the state, when it was passed by Nye County this month. According to the state, 15.4 percent of Lyon's workforce is unemployed, up a fifth of a point.

"Growth in the national economy will likely precede improvement in Nevada," Anderson said. "When that growth will trickle down to Nevada is less certain. For Nevada's tattered labor markets, the bottom of the business cycle can't come soon enough. The Las Vegas-Paradise metro area, including all of Clark County has been particularly hard hit, with an unemployment rate of 13.1 percent. It's not only the highest unemployment rate among Nevada's metro areas, it also ranks in the top five across all areas of similar size in the U.S."