Job growth was a common thread driving Northern Nevada’s economy in October, reflected in tightening unemployment rates regionwide.
In the latest monthly state report, the October unemployment rate in greater Reno-Sparks metropolitan area fell below the 4 percent barrier for the third time in 2017. Job growth swelled at a annual rate of 1.5 percent.
Washoe County’s official 3.9 percent jobless rate, like surrounding counties, reflects the region’s continuing economic rebound from the Great Recession, when Washoe’s unemployment swelled to nearly 14 percent at its peak.
“For 14 consecutive months, unemployment rates have declined on a over-the-year basis in all 17 counties,” the report stated.
In Washoe, an net increase of 3,300 new jobs were added from October 2016 to October 2017, the report showed, among them:
Construction: 1,100
Transportation/warehousing: 400
Restaurants: 500
Professional/business services: 500.
But while Washoe’s leisure/hospitality sector added 500 jobs overall, the casino hotels subsector lost 500 jobs, according to the report.
In the Carson City metropolitan area, an estimated 700 new jobs were added over the year, mostly in the government sector, according to the report.
That helped swell the metro area’s job growth rate to 2.4 percent on an annual basis.
