Nevada June jobless rate climbs to 12.4 percent

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Nevada's unemployment rate has inched up to 12.4 percent in June to mark the first time this year numbers have increased. The June figure is a slight jump from May's 12.1 percent jobless rate but is still lower than last June's 14.9 percent statewide unemployment.

State employment department chief economist Bill Anderson says non-farm payrolls shed 2,900 jobs between May and June, signaling that weak national market conditions are trickling down to Nevada. The Las Vegas metropolitan area continues to post the highest jobless numbers in the Nevada, with a 13.8 unemployment rate last month, compared to 13 percent in the Reno-Sparks area and 12.5 percent in Carson City. Nevada still lags behind the national June jobless rate of 9.2 percent. MadOne