Good news/bad news

Joblessness in Nevada is up to second in the nation, at 7.7 percent. Only Rhode Island has a higher percentage of unemployed.

That actually represents a gain by Nevada, in the sense that joblessness in the state in June fell by .02 percent since May and 2.3 percent since the same month of 2013. The national figure is 6.3.

Congress has been deadlocked on an extension of jobless pay for long-term unemployed for months. U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada last week told a Capitol Hill newspaper, “Well, there's a chance,” about the possibility of attaching the extension to an emergency spending measure.