Nevada's economic reopening restores half of lost jobs in June

June’s partial reopening of the Nevada economy restored nearly half of the jobs lost to the shutdown.

The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reports that the jobless rate fell from just about 30 percent in April to a raw rate of 15.2 percent in June.

In April, there were some 428,700 people out of work in the state. That total dropped to 227,600 in June.

The largest gains came in the Las Vegas reporting area because of the reopening of hospitality businesses including the casinos, restaurants and bars that make up the largest portion of the Southern Nevada economy.

DETR Chief Economist Dave Schmidt said Las Vegas fell to 18 percent jobless from a high of 34 percent at its peak as the number of jobless fell from 359,400 to 196,400.

But the Reno and Carson reporting areas also saw significant improvements from the partial reopening with Reno down to 8.6 percent or 20,700 in June from an April high of 20.4 percent or 45,700. Carson reported 8.4 percent in June compared to April’s 21.1 percent — 5,000 down to 2,100 seeking work in June.

Lyon County’s rate fell to 7.3 percent in June compared to a high of 13.8 percent. Similarly, Douglas County saw its rate fall from 14.9 percent to 7.3 percent in June.

Churchill County’s rate fell from 11.3 percent in April to 4.7 percent in June.

While a mid-June spike in infections forced the governor to reimpose some restrictions, including closure of bars and tighter rules for restaurants, Schmidt said those numbers clearly indicate the rapid change Nevada can expect once restrictions can safely be lifted.

Until then, he said restrictions will continue to impact Nevada’s labor market for several months to come. And with the re-imposition of restrictions, those rates are expected to rise somewhat in July.