Las Vegas August Unemployment Falls Slightly to 14.7%

The number of Las Vegans out of work for the month of August fell one-tenth of 1 percent, to 14.7%, while Nevada's rate climbed by the same ratio, to 14.4%, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported this morning.

The rate represents 192,000 people out of work in the state with 142,000 of them in the Las Vegas area. More than 10,000 workers left the labor force to either seek employment out of state or became too discouraged to look for work, said Bill Anderson, the DETR's chief economist. “The hot summer days of August did little to stimulate Nevada’s economic fortunes,” he added. “Readings of key labor market indicators continue to show moderating losses."

Nationally, the unemployment rate stood at 9.6% in August.