Las Vegas’ jobless rate pushed lower over the past year but remains among the highest in the nation for large metro areas, new data shows.
The unemployment rate in the Las Vegas area was 5.4 percent in July, down from 5.9 percent during the same month last year, according to figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Despite the improvement, Southern Nevada’s jobless rate was still sixth highest among the 56 metro areas nationwide with at least 1 million residents each, the bureau reported.
Among them, Honolulu had the lowest jobless rate in July at 2.8 percent, while Fresno, California, topped the list at 7.7 percent.
Metro-level jobless rates are not seasonally adjusted, meaning they are not stripped of normal seasonal fluctuations in headcount.
Southern Nevada relies heavily on visitors traveling here to spend big eating, drinking, gambling, partying and going to shows and conventions to fuel the local economy. Locally and nationally, personal finances have been squeezed this year by higher gas prices and elevated inflation, but visitor volume to America’s casino capital has leveled off following the noticeable decline last year.
Overall, employment in the Las Vegas area rose by 2,300 jobs, or 0.2 percent, from June to July, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, citing seasonally adjusted figures.
Still, as federal officials reported last week, even while Las Vegas’ job growth surpassed the national average early this year, wage increases in Southern Nevada lagged most of the country.
Total employment in Clark County was up 1.6 percent year-over-year in March, compared with a 0.1 percent bump nationwide.
However, average weekly wages locally in the first quarter were up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 3.9 percent increase nationally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Clark County’s pace of job growth was tied for 22nd among the nearly 380 counties tracked for that report — and its pace of wage growth was tied for 339th.
Andrew Woods, director of UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research, chalked up the discrepancy between Las Vegas’ employment growth and wage growth to the types of jobs being added in Southern Nevada.
He said that the top three industries adding jobs in Clark County have been healthcare, professional and business services, and construction, and that many of the in-demand jobs in those sectors “are likely on the lower end of the income range” such as home health aides, temp workers and general laborers.
Plus, when several years of elevated inflation are factored in, it means that many workers in the middle and lower end of the income range “are struggling to keep up with the increase in prices,” he said.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.
