A broader measure of Nevada's unemployment picture, including those who have given up looking for work, showed slight but continued improvement through the second quarter of 2012, a federal report released today shows.
Called the U6 rate, it declined in Nevada from 22.3% in the four quarters through March 31 to 22.1% in the 12 months ending June 30, according to the quarterly report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, the U6 unemployment rate is 15.3%, down from 15.6% through the first quarter of 2012. The only other state above 20% is California, with a rate of 20.3%. North Dakota has the lowest rate at 6.1%.
The U6 rate is sometimes referred to as the "actual" jobless rate because it includes discouraged workers and those working part-time who would like to be in full-time jobs. Nevada's U6 rate compares to the June seasonally adjusted rate of 11.6%, which held steady from May.
The June rate, considered to be the official unemployment rate, was reported last week by the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR).
Nevada leads the nation in both measures of unemployment.
