Nevada added 11,200 jobs in October as the state continues to recover from pandemic-related impacts. According to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation’s October report, released Nov. 18, while employment “is still below typical levels,” Nevada has now added back 96,700 jobs since October 2020. Total employment in the state is now 1.36 million. The state’s unemployment rate in October is 7.3 percent, down from 7.5 percent in September and decreased by 4.7 percentage points when compared to October 2020, according to DETR. The majority of the additional jobs, 8,400, is from the Las Vegas metropolitan reporting area. Reno-Sparks saw an additional 1,300 jobs during the month and Carson City added 200 jobs. Chief Economist Dave Schmidt said October was the second-strongest month in the past year and the growth was spread across many industries, with professional and business services leading the way. “The state’s labor market is continuing a rapid recovery as we emerge from the COVID recession,” Schmidt said in a statement. In related news, DETR announced Nov. 19 that with a combination of employer contributions and federal American Rescue Plan money, Nevada’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is recovering quickly from the pandemic. Shutting down the economy last year emptied the trust fund that pays unemployment benefits to out of work Nevadans, according to a DETR press release. At the start of the pandemic, that fund had about $2 billion in it. Officials of the Employment Security Division said November 2021’a quarterly contributions totaling $190 million increased the reserve to $300 million. That leaves the agency enough money to pay normal benefits through May 2022 when the next quarter’s contributions will arrive. The press release notes that the trust fund is still well below the federally recommended minimum balance, while adding that the fund got a significant boost from the federal funds and is also earning interest on the cash in the fund.
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