Nevada unemployment rate tops in US in April

Nevada has highest unemployment rate in the nation. Impacts have been seen in areas across the state.

According to the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation’s April 2020 economic report, statewide jobs decreased by 18.0%, a loss of 254,800 jobs since April 2019 for an employment level of 1,159,800, a trend reflected in the Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

The Las Vegas MSA declined at a rate of 20.8% or 214,500 jobs for an employment level of 817,500. In the Reno MSA, the decline was 9.9% or 24,500 jobs for an employment level of 222,400. The Carson City MSA lost jobs at the rate of 12.4% or 3,800 jobs for an employment level of 26,900. Changes are seasonally adjusted to show underlying trends in employment.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 28.2% in April, 6.9% in March and 4% in April 2019. Unadjusted unemployment rates for the state were 29.8% in April, 6.9% in March and 3.9% in April 2019. Unemployment rates for the state’s metropolitan areas, counties and cities are not adjusted for seasonality.

The Las Vegas MSA had an unemployment rate of 33.5% in April resulting from having a labor force of 1,063,731 and 356,652 unemployed individuals. In the Reno MSA, the unemployment rate was 19.6% in April resulting from having a labor force of 227,600 and 44,689 unemployed individuals. The Carson City MSA had an unemployment rate of 21.4% in April resulting from having a labor force of 23,131 and 4,952 unemployed individuals.

“This month’s report captures the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nevada’s labor market,” said David Schmidt, chief economist for DETR. “Not to our surprise, the state and sub-state regions all realized a significant increase in unemployment and decrease in employment. The largest impact was felt in Las Vegas, with an unemployment rate over 33 percent and a decline in employment near 21 percent.

“No area of the state, however, has been unaffected; the Reno and Carson City MSAs saw employment declines near 10 percent and unemployment rates near 20 percent, while the rural micropolitan areas of the state saw unemployment rates broadly ranging between 10 and 20 percent. As the situation evolves, we will continue to monitor labor market information and post updates on our website, NevadaWorkforce.com.”

Unemployment outside of the state’s MSAs ranged from 9.6% in Winnemucca to 21.3% in Pahrump after ranging from 2.8% in Winnemucca to 5.3% in Pahrump in April 2019. Elsewhere, the April unemployment rate in the state’s micropolitan areas was 15.4% in Elko, 12.8% in Fallon, 20.1% in Fernley and 19.3% in Gardnerville.