LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
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A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
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Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
On weekday mornings, Nevada Sports Net will recap three big headlines of the day in its Morning Download. Read below for today’s topics.
On Monday, Nevada athletics is scheduled to hold a “topping off” ceremony at its Fieldhouse construction site as progress continues on the all-sport facility west of Mackay Stadium. The “topping off” feature the final beam being placed atop the fieldhouse structure. Groundbreaking on the $28 million Fieldhouse was held in August with the project going vertical last month. The Fieldhouse, which Nevada has sought since the early 2000s, will give Wolf Pack football an indoor practice space and also provide the remainder of the Wolf Pack’s teams a place to train during high-heat summer or cold-winter days. The space also will serve as the home to the school’s intramural and club sports teams. The project, largely being funded by a new $3.50 per-credit student fee, is expected to be completed this summer or fall. The 72,000-square foot facility will be paid via a sublease that is projected to cost $64.1 million through the final payment in 2056. We got footage of the build earlier this month.
A portion of Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium was demolished Thursday as the state prepares to build the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District. Officials completed a controlled collapse of the upper section of the stadium using a technique called “tripping” to remove the support structures, causing the upper deck to fall. Smaller portions of the demo started in mid-February with a planned completion date of December. The state will build a new 30,000-seat Aloha Stadium surrounded by an entertainment district that is expected to be completed in March 2029 at a cost of $650 million, with half of that money coming from private investors. You can see drone footage of the demolition below.
Nevada’s Lilly Urban won the javelin at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., on Thursday with a heave of 56.60 meters, besting her toss at last year’s national championships. Teammate Hallee Hughes placed second at 50.57 meters. Last year, Urban finished 11th in the javelin at the NCAA Championships with a mark of 55.27 meters, earning second-team All-America honors. Meanwhile, at Thursday’s Bryan Clay Invitational, Aubrey Thompson posted a personal-best performance in the 10,000 meters, finishing 12th with a time of 37 minutes, 25.38 seconds. In the 3000 steeplechase, Natalie Roberts clocked a time of 10:59.09, finishing 97th. The Wolf Pack will return Friday for the bulk of its competition.
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