Reno's jobless rate slowly improving, now down to 5.4%

RENO, Nev. — Unemployment rates across Northern Nevada continued to improve in November, with the greater Reno-Sparks region now less than 3 percentage points above record low levels it enjoyed a year ago.

The Reno Metropolitan Statistical Area saw an increase of 1,600 jobs in November, up 0.7% from October, with the professional and business services sector growing the most by 2,300 jobs (+6.9%), according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation’s updated November jobs report.

The report, released Dec. 23, expounds on the state’s Dec. 17 report that revealed a 10.1% unemployment rate for the Silver State.

When looking at statistics year-over-year, total employment across Reno-Sparks is down 12,600 jobs (-5.0%) compared to November 2019, with the leisure/hospitality sector down the most by 6,100 jobs (-15.9%).

All told, the non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Reno-Sparks for November 2020 came in at 5.4%, according to DETR’s Dec. 23 report — while that’s still well off the 2.7% mark from November 2019, it’s vastly improved from the 19.6% jobless rate Reno-Sparks had in April at the onset of the pandemic.

The updated monthly stats underscore a continuing trend since March/April: Northern Nevada continues to fare far better than the south when it comes to employment rebounds.

For example, Carson City in November remained unchanged at 29,500 jobs compared to October. Compared to November 2019, total employment in the state’s capital is down 1,500 jobs (-4.8%), with the government sector down the most by 300 jobs (-3.1%).

Carson City’s unemployment rate of 5.8% in November is improved from October’s rate of 6.6% — though it's still down from its 3.3% rate in November 2019.

However, when looking at November’s statistics for the greater Las Vegas region, while the number of jobs increased by 7,800 (+0.8%) from October, total employment is down by 107,100 jobs from November 2019 (-10.3%).

The unemployment rate for the area came in at 11.5% in November and remains the highest in the state.

“Unemployment levels continued to decline across the state resulting in improvements in the unemployment rate in nearly all areas,” David Schmidt, Chief Economist for DETR, said in a statement. “Although the labor market continues to improve, Nevada remains one of the states most impacted by the COVID pandemic, with our economic outlook dependent on the response to COVID19 including treatments, policy responses, and public compliance with measures to slow the spread of the disease.”

Other unemployment rates in Nevada (not seasonally adjusted) for November 2020 included in the Dec. 23 report are as follows:

• The jobless rate in Elko was 3.8% in November 2020 compared to October 2020’s rate of 4.2% and 2.6% in November 2019.
• Fallon was 4.1% in November 2020 compared to October 2020’s rate of 4.5% and 3% in November 2019.
• Lyon County was 6.4% in November 2020 compared to October 2020’s rate of 7% and 4% in November 2019.
• Douglas County was 5.6% in November 2020 compared to October 2020’s rate of 6.6% and 3.4% in November 2019.
• Nye County was 7.6% in November 2020 compared to October 2020’s rate of 8.9% and 4.4% in November 2019.
• Winnemucca area was 3.9% in November 2020 compared to October 2020’s rate of 4.3% and 2.7% in November 2019.

Go to nevadaworkforce.com to read the full reports from Dec. 17 and Dec. 23.