About This AP article said that Nevada’s unemployment rate dropped for October to 14.2%. But, did it really?
Nevada’s unemployment rate dropped in October to 14.2 percent, marking the first decrease in almost five years and suggesting the recession’s choking hold on the state’s economy may be easing, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported Monday.
The article was also published in the RGJ (I was no longer able to find that story). But notice that it came only four days after a somewhat different story that said Nevada’s GDP decline is the worst in the US.
Gross Domestic Product decreased in 38 states in 2009, including by 6.4 percent over 2008 in Nevada.The Silver State had the largest decline in the U.S.
Since all of the data is from government sources its veracity is questionable at best. The government wants to convince us that they are doing a good job and have changed the methods that they display the statistics for that very purpose.
Now, we get another article where it explains that the drop in unemployment is actually due to Nevadans leaving the state for greener pastures. I tend to believe this story more that the others.
“Most likely, a number of workers have moved out of the state, while some have become discouraged and stopped looking for work,” he said.
Parker also said the state’s unemployment rate is heavily impacted by a decline in Nevada’s workforce as people leave the state and to look for work elsewhere.
Estimates show Nevada will lose 70,000 residents this year, Parker said.
The migration has been occurring for some time, Parker said, but this is the first month people have been leaving the state’s labor force faster than it has been losing jobs.
Ultimately, the decline should not be seen as a sign that Nevada is coming out of the recession, primarily because the state is still losing jobs.
I, for one, am not convinced that Nevada is anywhere near the end of the recession.