Officials: Nevada nearing pre-pandemic employment
Nevada continued its economic recovery into March with another month of job growth.
The state added 5,400 jobs over the month to bring Nevada’s total number of jobs to 1,440,400, state officials announced Thursday. The unemployment rate also dipped a tick from 5.1 percent in February to 5 percent in March, down 4.2 percentage points from March last year.
Gov. Steve Sisolak in a statement said he was pleased to see Nevada businesses growing and workers finding new jobs and opportunities.
“We are committed to doing all we can to connect Nevadans to job opportunities and build a stronger and more diverse economic foundation to create an economy that works for Nevada’s families,” Sisolak said.
Statewide employment is now within 10,000 jobs of its pre-pandemic peak, and the private sector is just 2,600 jobs shy of that level, according to David Schmidt, chief economist for the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.
“Las Vegas saw the fastest job growth in the state over the year, and Reno set a new all-time high for employment,” Schmidt said. “The labor market is tight, wages are rising, and as Nevada’s employment recovery continues these conditions are likely to continue as well.”
Nevada’s economy tanked after the pandemic prompted a statewide shutdown that heavily affected its economic engines, hospitality, gaming and tourism. The state unemployment rate has ranked at or near the top among all 50 states throughout much of the pandemic.
The administrative and waste services industry paced job sectors in job growth last month by adding 4,200 jobs. Leisure and hospitality remains the most impacted state industry at 89.9 percent recovery of its pre-pandemic high, the state employment department said.
Claims for unemployment benefits are at “multi-decade lows,” Schmidt said.
Las Vegas added 1,300 jobs from February to March and has increased employment by 116,600 jobs since last March. Reno also added 1,300 jobs in that time and has added 10,700 jobs since March 2021. Carson City lost 100 jobs since February but has added 1,100 jobs since last March.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.