Counties and Cities Employment & Unemployment September 2024 

Published on October 22, 2024 

In September 2024, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Nevada increased by 0.1 percentage points  from 5.5 percent to 5.6 percent. The unadjusted rate went down by 0.3 percentage points from 5.8 percent to  5.5 percent. The number of employed individuals in the state went down by 363. 

At the MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) level, the state saw a decrease in the unemployment rate in all three  of its MSAs. In the Las Vegas – Paradise MSA, the state saw a decrease in unemployment rate equivalent to 0.2  percentage points, moving from 6.1 percent to 5.9 percent. The Carson City MSA saw a decrease of 0.3  percentage points, going from 5 percent to 4.7 percent. The Reno – Sparks MSA saw a decrease of 0.4 percentage  points from 4.7 percent to 4.3 percent. These figures are not adjusted for seasonality. 

At the county level, the state saw decreases in the unemployment rate in all its counties. The counties with the  largest decreases were Eureka, Lincoln, and Humboldt with decreases of 0.9 percentage points, 0.8 percentage  points, and 0.7 percentage points, respectively. The smallest decreases were seen in Clark, Esmeralda, and  Mineral County, which all saw decreases of 0.2 percentage points. 

Figures for state unemployment estimates come from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program,  a state/federal partnership sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS-LAUS). This program produces  monthly and annual employment, unemployment, and labor force data for census regions, states, counties,  metropolitan areas, and many large cities, based on place of residence. For more on LAUS data or for a look at  estimates in your area visit our LAUS Page, and for a look that the economic profile of Nevada, the metropolitan  areas, or your county visit our Area Profiles Page.

Seasonally adjusted estimates account for regularly seen seasonal employment patterns such as jobs associated  with holiday hiring, holiday and weather seasons, or other jobs with seasonal components. The result of a  seasonally adjusted estimate is usually a smoother estimate from which underlying economic trends can be  seen. Adjusted estimates are in the summary table above, and in many of the other tables and figures  throughout this document. 

Nevada’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in September, which increased by 0.1  percentage points from 5.5 percent in August, and increased by 0.4 percentage points from 5.2 percent in  September 2023. The number of unemployed individuals increased by 1,359 from August for a current level of  91,099 people, which increased by 7,070 unemployed people since September 2023. The labor force in  Nevada is currently 1,621,849 people, which has increased by 996 people from August, and increased by 11,088 people since September 2023.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area’s (MSA) unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in September 2024,  decreasing from 6.1 percent in August 2024, and up from 5.5 percent in September 2023, non-seasonally  adjusted. The number of unemployed individuals decreased by 2,412 since August 2024 for a current level of  70,527 people, which is 5,134 more unemployed people than September 2023. The labor force in Las Vegas is  currently 1,201,592 people, which is 131 more people than in August 2024, and is up 7,028 people since  September 2023. 

The Reno MSA’s unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in September 2024, decreasing from 4.7 percent in August  2024, and up from 4.1 percent in September 2023, non-seasonally adjusted. The number of unemployed  individuals decreased by 749 since August 2024 for a current level of 11,714 people, which is 783 more  unemployed people than September 2023. The labor force in Reno is currently 270,001 people, which is 4,754  more people than August 2024, and is up 954 people since September 2023.

The Carson City MSA’s unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in September 2024, decreasing from 5 percent in  August 2024, and up from 4.3 percent in September 2023, non-seasonally adjusted. The number of unemployed  individuals decreased by 60 since August 2024 for a current level of 1,254 people, which is 122 more  unemployed people than September 2023. The labor force in Carson City is currently 26,426 people, which is  140 more people than in August 2024, and is up 273 people since September 2023. 

For more on the economy of your county including unemployment, employment, unemployment insurance,  wages, and more visit our Area Profiles Page. 

The cities of Boulder City, Elko, Fernley, and Mesquite are state specific areas. These estimates are not  endorsed or published by the BLS.

Unemployment Insurance Benefits 

In September 2024, 10,209 initial claims for unemployment insurance were filed in Nevada, a decrease of 1,880  claims, or 15.6 percent, from August 2024 when there were 12,089 claims. This is a higher number of claims than were seen in September 2023, when there were 8,854 initial claims.

Looking at our measures of unemployment insurance activity, final payments were up across the state. First  payments saw a decrease over the month. In Clark County, for example, first payments decreased by 318  down to 4,668 or a decrease of 6.4 percent. Final payments increased by 250 up to 2,030 or an increase of 14  percent. Washoe County saw a decrease in first payments, with first payments going down by 7 from 545 to  538. Final payments in Washoe County were up by 10 from 225 to 235. Carson City experienced an increase in  first payments moving from 61 to 68 or an increase of 7. Final payments in Carson City were up 5, moving from  27 to 32. Statewide, the Weeks Compensated increased by 11,923 or 13.6 percent over the month. Benefit  Payments made increased by approximately $6.13 million or 15.5 percent. 

End Notes 

Prepared by the Research and Analysis Bureau with contributions from: Jordan Ambrose, Benjamin Albrecht,  Bhraman Gulati, Marianne Kattenhorn, Dionny McDonnell, Dave Schmidt, Antonio Solorio, and Tim Wilcox. 

Special thanks to all the R and RStudio developers that built the packages to make this possible. Packages used  in this report include tidyverse, DBI, tidyquant, data.table, scales, gt, kableExtra, ggthemes, cowplot, gridExtra,  RcppRoll, viridis, fiftystater, ggforce, knitr, flexdashboard, lubridate, plotly, patchwork, reshape2. 

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