Unemployment, initiated by the recession and the housing foreclosure crisis, is a nationwide problem with which we still struggle today. While unemployment has been a continuing problem in Nevada, the recession and related foreclosure crisis, loss of tourism, and downturn in construction led to a dramatic increase in the unemployment rate.

The Las Vegas Urban League invested their CSBG Recovery Act funds in job development, workforce readiness skills, career enhancement training, and job placement assistance for its clients.

The Program for Life and Urban Skills (PLUS Program) mobilized 370 local employers to work with the agency to improve job skills, assist with resume preparation, and provide computer literacy. Clients benefited from background checks and other services to eliminate common barriers to finding employment. Other partners included educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and training providers.

The PLUS Program specifically targeted displaced workers, ex-offenders, and other hard-to-employ individuals who have been hardest hit by the effects of the economy.

During the time frame of the CSBG Recovery Act, 411 individuals obtained jobs as a result of the Las Vegas Urban League and the partners it mobilized.

Data sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2007 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2009 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2007 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2009 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• Center for American Progress analysis of CEPR Current Population Survey ORG data.