Douglas jobless hovers around 15 percent

Douglas County's unemployment continued to hover around 15 percent in June.

While the number of jobless residents in the county remained at 3,450, 210 more people joined the labor force, according to figures released this morning by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Total employment in the county in June was 19,550, up 210 people from May.

Douglas County has the fourth highest unemployment rate in the state, with neighboring Lyon County posting an 18.5 percent rate for June, followed by Nye County at 16.7 percent and Mineral County at 15.4 percent.

Statewide, Nevada hit a new record high with 14.2 percent unemployment. There are an estimated 193,000 Nevadans out of work.

While the private sector added 3,400 jobs statewide, seasonal declines in state and local government offset that improvement, with total employment decreasing by 1,400 workers.

State and local government shed 4,800 jobs, but most of those were seasonal, tied to the end of the school year, according to the state.

"In all, employers hired 153,896 new employees in the second quarter of 2009," state analysts reported. "The trend shows that while competition is extremely high, opportunities are out there, even in a declining labor market."

Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., called the latest figures disheartening.

"While Nevadans continue to struggle to make ends meet, Congress is currently scheduled for a six-week break over August and September," he said. "Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership should reconsider taking time off until Congress finally passes an economic measure that gets Americans back to work. Instead of trying to convince the American public that the stimulus is working, Congress should actually turn its attention to bipartisan policies that will lead to economic recovery."

On July 1 Heller voted in support of the Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act , which would extend unemployment compensation through November of this year. This bill is currently pending in the Senate.