Slow Job Growth Means Long Road to Recovery for Nevada Hispanics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            Contact:
July 6, 2012                                                        Camila Gallardo
                                                                              (305) 573-7329
                                                                              cgallardo@nclr.org

WASHINGTON, D.C.—NCLR (National Council of La Raza) issued its Monthly Latino Employment Report following today’s release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) job growth numbers. In the month of June, the nation experienced a net gain of only 80,000 new jobs, more bad news for the Hispanic community, which is among the hardest hit. In May, the Hispanic workforce witnessed its highest unemployment numbers so far this year—11%—and that remained unchanged in June.

NCLR’s report focuses on one of the nation’s most affected states, Nevada, which consequently is host to this year’s NCLR Annual Conference, the largest and most important yearly gathering of the nation’s most influential individuals, organizations, institutions, and companies working with the Hispanic community. Latinos are an integral part of Nevada’s workforce, accounting for 23% of the state’s total labor force. Here, and in other states where Hispanics have been disproportionately affected by the housing market crash and the loss of construction-sector jobs, sluggish job growth means a longer road to recovery for Latino families.

“Nevada still has a long way to go, due in large part to the scar left by the housing market crash in a state where construction was a mainstay of the state’s economic engine,” said Catherine Singley, Senior Policy Analyst with NCLR’s Economic and Employment Policy Project.

The most recent numbers available, show that the Las Vegas–Paradise area ranked fourth among other major Hispanic metropolitan areas in terms of Hispanic unemployment in 2011.

“Nevada clearly has enormous challenges ahead. Key to the state’s recovery will be finding unique ways to diversify its industries and put talented, hardworking Latinos back to work,” concluded Singley.

Click here for the full Monthly Latino Employment Report.

NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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