Jobs in Reno, Nevada

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Rising unemployment rates and a collapse of the state’s housing market has made it obvious that the nationally experienced economic recession is hitting Nevada hard. Now, after months of watching Reno jobs dry up, the city has made Forbes.com’s list of Worst Medium Sized Cities for Jobs.

According to Forbes, of all the cities on the list, Reno has fallen the furthest down the ladder. Only a few years ago, jobs in Reno were so abundant that the city was considered one of the best areas to search for employment, but recently the area has fallen hard. Last year Reno was 29th in the country for jobs, now after falling 61 spots, it comes that the 90th slot.

Reno mirrors what is happening to jobs throughout the rest of Nevada.

“We’ve pretty much seen job losses in every sector, but specifically in hospitality and construction,” said Mae Worthy of the State Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. “And we’re still seeing that those are being the hardest hit.”

During times when the economy is struggling, it becomes harder to sell homes. Since already existing pieces of real estate aren’t selling, there is no need for new projects to be started, which means that construction jobs in Nevada are hard to come by. In the last year, this sector has lost what amounts to 31 percent of the positions lost in the state across all industries.

Since parts of Nevada rely heavily on tourism, the fact that other areas throughout the country are also struggling means even less money to spend on vacations. Fewer tourists are coming to the area, which takes a huge chunk out of the leisure and hospitality industry. Over the last 12 months, Nevada has lost over 21,000 jobs in this area of employment.

Despite these two struggling industries, some maintain that other areas of employment in Reno aren’t as bad off. By complying all the available data since 2003, Forbes found that transportation and utilities positions in the area are still doing fairly well. This industry has only seen a 2 percent decrease in jobs since last year, but has seen a 26.5 percent increase since 2003.

Professional and business services is another area of employment that hasn’t done too badly in the last few years. Although this industry saw a 11.1 percent decline since last year, Forbes says it has seen a 15.5 percent growth since 2004.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Nevada’s unemployment rate climbed 0.4 percent from February’s 10 percent to 10.4 percent in March. During the same month last year only 5.6 percent of the state’s population was without work.

Reno’s jobless rate is somewhat higher than that of the rest of the state. Although March’s data has yet to be complied, the city’s unemployment rate jumped from 8.8 percent in December to 11.2 percent in February. Only a year prior all but 5.9 percent of the population was working.