Nevada adds 6K jobs in February as economic recovery from pandemic continues

Nevada added 6,300 jobs in February, with slightly more than half of them coming from the leisure and hospitality sector, state officials said Thursday, in a sign that the state’s economy continues to recover from the sudden economic fallout spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic nearly two years ago.

The state’s unemployment rate last month was 5.1 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from January and 4.7 percentage points compared with one year ago, according to statistics from the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Leisure and hospitality contributed 3,400 jobs to the state overall.

“It is promising to see the latest numbers from February’s economic report, particularly the continued rebound in employment growth in Nevada,” Gov. Steve Sisolak said in the news release. “It’s great to see gains made in leisure and hospitality, the hardest hit industry in our State. Across all State agencies, we are focused on creating more economic opportunity for Nevadans.”

The rate is higher than the national unemployment rate of 3.8 percent. Officials noted total employment is still below typical levels.

In the Las Vegas area, there was a 12.6 percent increase in jobs since February 2021, or about 116,400 jobs, when seasonally adjusted, according to the department. The Reno area has added about 10,000 jobs, or 4.1 percent, since the same time and Carson City has added 900 jobs, or 3 percent.

David Schmidt, DETR’s chief economist, said the state’s growth in February was led by the Las Vegas region.

“The State’s labor market is continuing its recovery as we emerge from the COVID recession, particularly in the industries that were hit hardest by the pandemic,” he said in the release.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.