The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said the area’s unemployment rate hit 5.6% in August, ranking it as the fourth highest among metro regions with more than one million residents
Las Vegas faces one of the highest unemployment rates among major metropolitan areas in the country, highlighting continued problems in the city’s tourism-based economy.
Nevada Expert Says Job Scene Unchanged Despite Lower Numbers
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the region’s unemployment rate reached 5.6% in August, making it the fourth highest among metropolitan areas with populations over one million. Fresno, California, had a worse rate at 7.9%. In contrast, Birmingham, Alabama, and Honolulu showed the lowest rates, both at 2.5%.
The August numbers showed a small uptick from July when Las Vegas had 6% unemployment, sharing the third-highest spot among big US cities. However, experts warn that the drop does not mean the economy is getting better.
David Schmidt, lead economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said that changes in how many people are working or looking for work partly explain the change. Over 2,000 people stopped being part of the workforce between July and August, so they were not counted as jobless anymore. At the same time, job numbers adjusted for normal seasonal changes showed a loss of more than 4,000 jobs in the Las Vegas area during that time. Schmidt called Nevada’s job market “unchanged.”…