Las Vegas managed to pad its payrolls in September, even while visitors have been dragging their feet on coming back to the Strip. Southern Nevada added about 4,400 jobs from August to September, a 0.4% bump that leaned heavily on new hires in leisure and hospitality. Local business leaders are calling the gains a welcome sign, but say the recovery is still on thin ice until tourists and conventioneers start spending like it is 2019 again.
State Numbers Show Modest Momentum
Fresh figures from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation show total employment in the Las Vegas area climbing by roughly 4,400 jobs between August and September, a 0.4% month-over-month increase. Seasonally adjusted data from the department indicate that leisure and hospitality did the heaviest lifting, adding about 5,100 jobs in a single month. The Las Vegas Review-Journal noted the report arrived later than usual after federal processing stalled during the fall appropriations lapse, delaying the official word on how the local job market was actually doing.
Tourism Slumps While Jobs Tick Up
Even with that hiring burst, Las Vegas is still dealing with a softer tourism picture. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s most recent executive summary points to visitor volume and room-night demand running behind last year, with hotel occupancy and average daily room rates slipping in recent months. The LVCVA executive summary puts October visitation down 4.4%, with year-to-date traffic off by more than 7%.
At the same time, local business sentiment is hardly roaring. UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research reports that business confidence in the Las Vegas Valley has slipped to its weakest point since the Great Recession, a reminder of why many decision-makers are not popping champagne over a single month of gains.
‘Encouraging, But Fragile,’ Say Local Leaders
Local executives and economic watchers are treating September’s uptick as a step in the right direction, not a victory lap. They argue that lasting job growth will depend on stronger convention bookings and more demand that is not tied solely to weekend tourists, as detailed by Nevada Globe. In other words, the city cannot fully lean on blackjack and bottle service to carry the whole economy forever…