Nevada’s total number of jobs grew in June, but so did unemployment

By Jeniffer Solis

Nevada Current

Nevada saw job growth in June, but the state also saw a slight increase in unemployment.

On Thursday, the Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) announced that while the Nevada labor force grew by about 2,300 in June, unemployment in Nevada also increased to 5.2 percent.

“Similar to national trends, this month’s report for Nevada shows ongoing employment growth and a slight increase in the state’s unemployment rate,” said David Schmidt, DETR’s chief economist, in a statement.

The rise of unemployment is the result of a decrease in jobs across several sectors. Government, for example, saw a decrease of 1,500 jobs over June, and Professional and Business Services saw a decrease of 1,400.

However, a gain of about 3,500 jobs in the Leisure and Hospitality industry, and growth in the construction sector, counteracted many of those losses.

“Construction employment rose significantly, growing by more than 11 percent over the year while wholesale and retail trade each were down by about 1 percent,” Schmidt said.

Most of the June job losses were centered in the Las Vegas metro area, which experienced a decrease equivalent to 2,000 jobs in June. Nevada’s capital, Carson City, also saw a decrease of about 100 jobs. Meanwhile, the Reno metro area saw an increase of 600 jobs.

The rise in unemployment is a reverse of job gains made in May, when Nevada’s oft-held title as the state with the worst unemployment rate in the nation was snatched by California’s 5.3 percent unemployment rate. National state comparisons unemployment comparisons for June are not yet available.

Still, Nevada has seen steady monthly job growth since pandemic closures helped Nevada go from having its lowest recorded unemployment rate of 3.6 percent in February 2020 to having the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 30 percent.

“Hourly wages rose at a slightly faster pace this month while average hours worked held steady. Overall, trends in the labor market remained largely stable in June,” Schmidt said.

Nevada had the nation’s third highest over-the-year employment growth for the month of May at 3.3 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ahead of Nevada were Alaska and South Carolina, both at 3.5 percent.

The rise in unemployment also led to an increase in unemployment claims in the state. Unemployment insurance claims filed in Nevada rose by 6.8 percent, from 10,924 in May to 11,663 in June. The state also saw an increase of 16.3 percent in the number of weeks unemployment was claimed. However, the total number of weeks paid out slightly decreased from 79,325 to 79,036, a difference of 289 weeks.

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Jeniffer Solis was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada where she attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before graduating in 2017 with a B.A in Journalism and Media Studies.