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Unemployment rates in each Nevada county exceed the national average. However, the state is also experiencing its highest job growth at the same time.
According to Elko Daily Free Press,
"Though a stark decrease from the nearly 30% rate, the highest in the country, at the beginning of the shutdown in March 2020, the state’s unemployment rate remains higher than the nationwide rate of 3.5%."
The ongoing recuperation from the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in short-term unemployment have been identified as key contributors to Nevada's position with the highest unemployment rate nationwide.
However, an interesting paradox is currently taking place. While the state’s long-term unemployment, which includes residents who haven't held a job for more than 26 weeks, has noticeably decreased, it is short-term unemployment that is contributing greatly the the climbing unemployment rate.
Here are some statistics about Nevada counties grappling with more extreme unemployment rates:
- Clark County has a 6.1% unemployment rate.
- Washoe County's unemployment rate is at 4.4%.
- North Las Vegas has the highest unemployment in the state at 7.3%.
- White Pine County has the lowest unemployment in the state at 3.8%.
The state's labor growth being witnessed, according to economist David Schmidt is a trend worth exploring too,
“This is the first month since the pandemic that the leisure and hospitality industry, and therefore every major industrial sector, has gotten up to having more jobs than prior to the pandemic."