Nevada’s jobless rate improves to 10.1% in November

The unemployment rate Nevada improved slightly in November to 10.1%, compared to October’s rate of 11.9%, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation’s November economic report, released Dec. 17.

Per the report, Nevada added 9,200 jobs in November compared to October; however, the state has 109,500 fewer jobs than in November 2019, for an annual job growth rate of -7.7%.

The total employment level in the state as of November 2020 is 1,317,800.

DETR’s Dec. 17 report also notes Nevada’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) initial claims decreased by 5,278, or 13.9% over the month, to 32,613 claims. This is the fewest claims filed in a month since the beginning of the pandemic.

“This month Nevada continued to experience a rebound in employment and unemployment, on par with the trend since August,” David Schmidt, Chief Economist for DETR, said in a statement. “... Of particular note among industry employment figures are the nondurable goods manufacturing industry, which rose to its all-time high in November and the full-service restaurant industry, which returned to pre-COVID levels over the last two months.

“Retail and wholesale trade saw stronger increases in employment than normal seasonal patterns, while accommodation saw sharper declines than normal.”

Additional November Economic Report highlights are as follows:

• Nevada jobs were up 0.7%, while U.S. jobs were up 0.2% from October to November.
• Trade, Transportation, & Utilities added the most jobs, 4,900, in Nevada in November.
• Management of companies and enterprises (-20.1%) and educational services (-16.2%) are down the most since the same time last year.
• The unemployment rate in Nevada is higher than the national rate in November of 6.7%.

Go to nevadaworkforce.com for the full jobs report.

Nevada burns through Trust Fund, now borrowing to pay jobless claims

After burning through more than $1.3 billion in the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, Nevada is now borrowing from the federal government to make sure the state can pay jobless benefit claims, DETR announced Dec. 17.

But Nevada isn’t alone. There are 22 states borrowing from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits to jobless workers.

Under the federal law, no interest accrues on the borrowed money until after the New Year. But after that, the interest rate the federal government charge is significantly higher than the going rate for private loans, bonds and other sources of funding.

As of Dec. 16, the state had borrowed $14.57 million from the federal government to cover benefits owed.

Nevada had to do the same thing to get out of the recession but paid it off through a bond process that significantly reduced the interest Nevada had to pay to the federal government.