Unemployment in the Las Vegas metro area remained at 4.8% in September, unchanged from August, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Nearly 60,000 people in the metro area — which includes Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County — were actively looking for work.
The statewide rate fell to 4.7%, continuing a decline from 5.3% in April. DETR Chief Economist David Schmidt attributed the drop to decreasing labor force participation rather than job gains. Nevada's labor force has shrunk by about 40,000 workers since January, with more than 31,000 of those losses coming from the Las Vegas area. To be counted as unemployed, a person must be actively seeking work; many have stopped looking over the past six months.
Among Nevada cities, North Las Vegas posted the highest unemployment rate at 5.0%, followed by Boulder City at 4.9%. Las Vegas and Henderson each recorded 4.8%. Elko had the lowest city rate at 2.9%. At the county level, Clark County stood at 4.8%, while Mineral County led the state at 7.2%. Elko County had the lowest rate at 3.0%.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits decreased 3.4% from August to 11,106 in September, though that figure remains slightly above the 10,921 claims filed a year earlier.
Sources: 8 News Now
Original reporting: 8 News Now →
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