The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation on Oct. 26 released updated monthly jobless numbers, reporting Nevada’s unemployment rate decreased statewide in September.
The raw rate — not seasonally adjusted — came in at 6.4% while the seasonally adjusted rate was a percent higher at 7.5.
The statewide rate — which is still far of the U.S. rate of 4.8% — is elevated by the fact the Las Vegas metropolitan area is at 7.4%, the highest of any Nevada region, though it’s eight-tenths lower than August.The Reno-Sparks market, by comparison, is at just 3.5% — also down eight-tenths from August — and Carson City is at 3.9%, down seven-tenths from a month earlier.There are currently 1,019 people looking for work in Carson City and 9,235 in Reno, according to DETR’s Oct. 26 report.In Las Vegas, where the hospitality and leisure industry remains hard hit from COVID-19, the number of jobless is 82,792.Nearby Lyon and Douglas counties have September jobless rates of 4% and 4.5%, respectively.Initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased 12.5% to 6,852 in September. Claims have been declining steadily since February. The department’s Chief Economist Dave Schmidt says there are 117,302 unemployed individuals currently, which is 82,432 fewer than in September 2020.“This report shows a slower pace of growth in the labor market compared to what we have seen earlier this year. Job gains month-to-month peaked in June, and have slowed each month from July to September, moving toward a more typical pace of employment growth," Schmidt said in a statement. "In September, most employment growth came from two industries: leisure and hospitality and retail trade. In contrast, the professional and business sector experienced the largest decrease in the number of jobs."The total labor force in the state is 1,562,609, an increase of 27,435 compared to a year ago.
