Las Vegas NowUnemployment in North Las Vegas Skyrocketing

Unemployment in North Las Vegas Skyrocketing

We all know that construction is the heart of unemployment in southern Nevada. Since the sounds of hammers, saws and machines have slowly subsided, so have the jobs in North Las Vegas.

Electrician Theodore Walker is hoping this will be his lucky day. Unemployed and down on his luck, Walker hopes faxing this resume to a potential employer will be his ticket to a new job.

"I haven't gotten any good responses at all. None. But me being in the construction area, that area has been pretty rough," he said.

And he's right. The construction industry in North Las Vegas has been hit hard. According to Applied Analysis, 17-percent of North Las Vegas' employees are dependant on the construction industry. Since building has ceased dramatically, the unemployment rate has soared to a whopping 14.8-percent.

Phil Stoeckinger, Finance Director for North Las Vegas, says a chunk of those unemployed are Hispanics. Hispanics make up about 40-percent of the city's population, followed by 18-percent African Americans. Many are employed by either city services or construction.

"If you look at that and the visitor volume, it all has a ripple effect on our city," he said.

Nobody knows that more than Walker, unemployed for four months. He's sent his resume and now waits for a call back. But with no construction jobs in sight, he says he's willing to do anything. "I'll take pretty much anything right now because I'm desperate. I need work," he said.

North Las Vegas is working on a plan to bring in business owners from California by marketing how affordable homes and vacant businesses are. Their hope is to get them to buy property in the city and provide jobs.