Hundreds of Reno teaching jobs will soon be lost as a major higher educational institution sheds positions.
The University of Nevada, Reno recently announced that it will cut 279 jobs. No filled tenure or tenure-track positions will be eliminated. Several full-time faculty members will teach bigger classes in order to replace the loss of several part-time faculty members.
Officials said the cuts are necessary because of a 15 percent budget cut that decreased the university’s state funding by $33 million during the next two fiscal years, according to an article by Mercury News.
One organization that helps people secure and train for Nevada jobs will soon receive a substantial amount of funding.
Nevada JobConnect recently announced that it will get $1.4 million to spend on administration and job training this year. The funding is made up in part by $500,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will be used specifically for training job applicants for careers in corrections and green energy according to an article by the Pahrump Valley Times.
The organization is already receiving $400,000 for salaries, operational expenses, utilities and supplies. The remainder of the money, $540,000, will go to run the other Workforce Investment Act agencies affiliated with Nevada JobConnect, such as Nevada Partners.
The “green collar” industry is helping to create jobs in Las Vegas and throughout the State of Nevada.
A recent study by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that Nevada’s clean-energy economy increased faster than other sectors between 1998 and 2007. During that time, the state’s clean-energy industries accounted for a 28.8 percent increase in employment to 3,641 jobs, compared to 26.5 percent for all jobs.
According to an article by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Pew report classifies clean-energy as renewable power, energy efficiency, environmentally-friendly production, conservation and pollution mitigation, training and support.
Although the city’s unemployment rate saw a slight decline, more jobs in Reno were lost during April.
The Reno-Sparks area’s unemployment rate decreased from 11.2 to 11 percent during April. This is the first time the area’s unemployment has declined since August 2008, when the unemployment rate decreased from 6.7 percent to 6.6 percent. However, at the same time, the area continued to lose jobs.
The area had a total non-farm employment of 198,900 workers during April, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 199,600 workers during March and an 8.5 percent decrease from last year. Every single industry saw a decrease in jobs when compared to last year. Read the rest of this entry »
A new state initiative could help create thousands of environmental jobs in Nevada.
Last week, the Assembly Ways and Means Committee passed Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford’s “green jobs” initiative. The effort would allow the State of Nevada to use stimulus funds to train about 3,200 workers to perform weatherization, energy retrofit applications and energy audits.
According to an article by BusinessWeek, the jobs would not only boost Nevada’s green-collar workforce, but also would help consumers save money on utility bulls. The initiative now needs to be passed by the full Assembly.
A new manufacturing company is doing its part to help create jobs in Reno.
Scienceuticals, Inc. recently announced its plan to open a west coast development and manufacturing facility in Reno, which will create 25 jobs by the end of the year and 100 jobs within three years. Jobs will include bench chemists, lab technicians, account managers, administrative, shipping and receiving and production positions.
The company manufactures cosmetics and skin care products, and its new 55,000-square-foot facility will have the capability to produce such items as lotions, oils, hair care products, cosmetics and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.
Those with Nevada medical jobs are working in the best place in the country.
BusinessWeek recently named Nevada the best market for college graduates interested in doing hospital work. Nevada was awarded the title because the median annual salary for employees under 30 came in at $60,900, which is 24 percent higher than the national median for the field.
On top of that, those in their 20s made up 35 percent of the hospital industry workforce in Nevada, higher than the 32 percent average nationwide. Some of the best facilities in Nevada include Humboldt General Hospital, Summerlin Hospital and Spring Mountain Treatment Center.
Extra attention was recently given to those with Las Vegas hospitality jobs.
People who work in the Las Vegas hospitality and tourism industry gathered together this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center to encourage Americans to travel more and help local economies that depend on visitors. The gathering also served as a reminder that several people’s jobs depend on travel.
According to an article by the San Jose Mercury News, the rally was part of a national campaign organized by the U.S. Travel Association and was aimed at places like Beaumont, Texas; New York; Cincinnati; Phoenix and Orlando, Fla.
Actions by city officials and a stringent budget are helping to preserve Reno government jobs.
The Reno City Council recently announced that the severe budget scenario adopted and enacted in February is working to keep the city financially stable. However, it is estimated that the budget deficit for fiscal year 2009-2010 will be an additional $20 million.
“It has been tough on our citizens, and tough on our employees and unfortunately there is more to come,” Mayor Robert A. Cashell said in a press release. “The good news is because of the decisions made by this Council and management, we are in a better position than most local governments going into next year’s budget.”
Jobs in Nevada declined once again during March.
The state’s unemployment rate increased from 10 percent to 10.4 percent during March, well above the national unemployment rate of 8.5 percent. This is Nevada’s highest unemployment rate in a quarter of a century, according to an article by The Associated Press.
Throughout the state, about 146,200 people were without work, while only about 1.2 million held jobs. Nevada has lost 7 percent of its jobs since the recession began in December 2007. In comparison with other states, Nevada has the seventh-highest unemployment rate. Michigan has the highest at 12.6 percent.