Hiring by home builders and software and mobile application developers is helping the western third of the United States lead the nation in employment growth, according to Moody’s Analytics Inc. and IHS Global Insight Inc., Bloomberg reported. That’s a contrast for the region, which has had the highest unemployment rates following the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble in 2006, with prices plunging in Las Vegas, Southern California and Arizona. Nevada’s unemployment fell 2.4 percentage points in the year ended Nov. 30, the most of any state, though the current rate, 10.8 percent, is still the highest in the country, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Joblessness in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Idaho are all down by at least 1 percentage point in the same period. Read more.