Nevada manufacturing jobs declined 11.8% over past two years

Industrial employment in Nevada fell 11.8 percent over the past two years according to the 2011 Nevada Manufacturers Directory, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News Inc. MNI reports Nevada lost 7,584 industrial jobs and 77 manufacturers over the two-year period, with 3,970 jobs lost between October 2008 and October 2009 and a slightly smaller 3,614 jobs lost from October 2009 to present.

Manufacturers' News reports Nevada is now home to 1,828 manufacturers employing 56,161 workers.

"Nevada's industrial sector continues to be battered by the housing bust and the recession," says Tom Dubin, president of the Evanston, Ill.-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. "However, the losses seem to be leveling out, and the state's investment in green technologies should help improve the outlook."

MNI reports metal mining is Nevada's largest industrial sector with 6,107 jobs, down 16.8 percent over the past two years. Printing and publishing accounts for 5,110 jobs, down 9 percent. Third-ranked fabricated metal accounts for 5,016 jobs, down 13.1 percent over the past 24 months, following the closure of CMC Joist in Fallon, among others.

Most other industrial sectors in Nevada lost jobs within the past two years and included transportation equipment, down 30 percent; stone/clay/glass and lumber/wood, each down 26 percent; furniture/fixtures, down 21 percent; primary metals, down 19.7 percent; textiles/apparel, down 18.4 percent; rubber/plastics, down 16.1 percent; electronics, down 11.3 percent; and industrial machinery and equipment, down 11 percent, due partially to the closure of Polyphaser Corporation. Food products saw a gain of 1.7 percent, while employment in paper products was unchanged.

Bright spots for the state include the opening of Amonix Inc.'s photovoltaic plant in North Las Vegas; EMCO's facility in Minden that will manufacture high voltage power supplies; Asia New Energy's LED facility and A-Power's wind turbine assembly plant in Henderson; and the relocation of Scougal Rubber Corp. from Seattle to Northern Nevada, with the move expected to create up to 80 jobs.  

MNI's city data shows Las Vegas is Nevada's top city for manufacturing employment, home to 15,894 jobs, down 8.4 percent over the two-year period. Second-ranked Reno accounts for 9,600 jobs, with employment down 16.5 percent. Industrial employment in North Las Vegas declined 15.7 percent and is currently home to 4,479 industrial workers. Sparks accounts for 4,471 industrial jobs, down 16.5 percent over the past 24 months, while Henderson accounts for 4,050 jobs, down 14.3 percent.