Nevada leads US in job creation, new data show
Nevada is adding jobs at the fastest rate in the nation, new data show.
Numbers from the U.S. Labor Department posted Jan. 23 show Nevada experienced the top employment growth rate in the country in 2017, with year-over-year job gains at 3.3 percent ending in December. A big change from 2009, when Nevada had the lowest employment growth in the nation at minus 7.1 percent, including private and public sector employment, according to the labor department.
Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said this week the 43,800 jobs the state added between 2016 and 2017 were broad based.
“We’re getting significant contributions from our historical drivers, that being construction and leisure and hospitality, but for all intents and purposes we’re getting jobs gains from all sectors,” he said. “The leader in job growth is professional business services, and in addition to that we’re seeing contributions from health care, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing.”
Right behind Nevada are Oregon (2.7 percent) and Utah (2.6 percent).
Anderson said the makeup of current Nevada employment will help the state to weather new possible economic storms. Still, improvement lies ahead.
Part-time employment is holding steady at around 300,000 jobs. Prior to the recession, the state was averaging just 200,000 part-time workers, he said.
Contact Nicole Raz at nraz@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Follow @JournalistNikki on Twitter.
