CARSON CITY, NV - For May, 12.1% of Nevada's population is getting unemployment benefits, the fifth straight month of declines.

Nevada added 1,900 construction jobs in May, a welcome sign for the state's economy that is heavily reliant on growth. Most of the gain was in specialty trade contractors working on rural projects, according to new figures and analysis from State of Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

An example is the building boom going on in the largely rural town of Elko, where the unemployment rate fell again to 6.8 percent. That is close to half the average unemployment rate in the rest of the state.

These new unemployment numbers are a mixed bag, however, and the word "rural" is the rub. While unemployment overall in Nevada dropped, it rose is some key areas of the state that bring in most of the tax revenue.

Even though Reno-Sparks added 900 jobs with the help of the opening of the Siena Hotel Spa and Casino, unemployment filings still ticked up a tenth of a percent in Washoe County. A contributor to the uptick was that transportation and warehousing lost 700 jobs. Down in Las Vegas it is worse. The number of people filing for unemployment bumped up nearly a half of a percent. The state did not offer analysis as to why the rate is rising in Nevada's cash cow.

The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation continues to point to the brighter side of the figures, that the statewide unemployment rate is now down 3 percentage points from the near-15-percent unemployment peak in December. It also points out that over the past five months, the number of people filing for unemployment has dropped by nearly 40,000. But there is a dark side to those figures, too. In this once fast-growing state, only two out of every five of those 40,000 people actually found jobs, according to William Anderson, chief economist for the state. The vast majority just dropped off the rolls.

"Employers and workers are still struggling to find their footing in the current economy," Anderson said. "The employer survey showed an increase of just 1,500 jobs in May. The increase was much less than expected."

The big losers are the financial industry, which lost 1,100 jobs last month, and trade, transportation and utilities industries, which lost 1,000 jobs. The young are also not faring well.

"Many seasonal job opportunities provided to younger workers have dried up in the recession or are being taken by older, more experienced workers" Anderson said. Between 2006 and 2010, the number of young people getting jobs has dropped by 65 percent he said. Not only that, the wages are dropping for younger workers. Now, young people are earning nearly 160 dollars less per month than they were in 2007. Anderson expects job growth to be weak this summer, making competition for summer jobs even tighter.

Young people need to focus their job searches on certain industries. For example, retail, food service and construction hired 5,800 young people for jobs. If you want a big paycheck, start mining for jobs in that industry. Mining pays new hires $1,200 a week on average. Utilities pay well too with an average check of $1600 every two weeks. Mining is hiring young people too, picking up 130 of the whipper-snappers last year and utilities only hired 23 younger workers.