Nevada Unemployment Remains Highest in US

According to the latest report (see below) published by the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), the Nevada unemployment rate remains the highest in the U.S. at 5.3 percent, dipping slightly from 5.4 percent in June. The labor force in the state grew by 3,400–marking the eighth consecutive month that Nevada has added jobs. Trailing Nevada are California and Delaware at 4.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

The state’s labor force has grown by approximately 24,000, or 1.5 percentage points, over the last year. According to the report, the Silver State has seen a month-over-month increase in its labor force for the past 8 months consecutively, dating back to December of 2022.

Nevada also saw the largest percentage increase in employment at 3.8 percent, or 56,500 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. In June, Nevada was tied with Texas for the largest over-the-year employment growth at 4 percent.

The Las Vegas metropolitan area’s labor force grew about 0.2 percent from June, adding about 1,700 jobs over the month–an increase of about 41,200 jobs, or 3.8 percent, when compared to July 2022. Meanwhile, the Reno metropolitan area saw a decrease of 400 jobs (or -0.1%).

“In July, for the first time all major industry sectors in the state have fully recovered from the COVID pandemic, employing more workers than they did before the pandemic,” DETR chief economist David Schmidt said in the release. “The unemployment rate remains somewhat high compared to other states as workers reenter the labor force, and our employment growth remains relatively high.”