Nevada unemployment returns to 5.2%; 2,000 jobs lost in Las Vegas metro area

LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) — Unemployment in Nevada increased to 5.2% as the Las Vegas metro area saw a decrease of about 2,000 jobs in June, according to the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR).

It’s a retreat to levels last seen in February. At the time, California had just passed Nevada for the worst unemployment rate in the nation — a title Nevada had held onto for about a year and a half.

A snapshot from May’s numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Nevada (5.1%) below Washington, D.C., (5.3%) and California (5.2%), but that could change as June figures are released nationwide.

Initial claims in June for unemployment insurance are up 6.8% in Nevada, moving from 10,924 in May to 11,663 last month. The 12-month average is 10,982. DETR reports the state paid out $36,077,109 in June, a 24.3% increase over the amount paid out in June 2023 ($29,034,668).

DETR noted that the number of weeks claimed increased by 14,503, or 16.3 percentage points. Final payments (typically when benefits are exhausted) went up, from 2,016 in May to 2,206 in June. But the number of weeks paid went down slightly from 79,325 to 79,036, a difference of 289 weeks.

Nevada saw growth in its total number of jobs in June.

Total non-farm employment in Nevada increased by about 2,300 jobs overall, largely in the leisure and hospitality industry, which saw gains of 3,500 jobs. Government jobs decreased by 1,500 and professional and business services jobs dropped by 1,400.

For information on how to file an unemployment insurance claim, go to https://ui.nv.gov/ . To report unemployment fraud, go to https://detr.nv.gov/Page/Unemployment_Fraud .

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