Nevada has highest jobless rate in nation; Carson City at 21.4%

It came as no surprise that unemployment skyrocketed in April and no surprise that Clark County, which relies more on tourism and hospitality businesses than anywhere else in the state, was hardest hit.

Statewide, unemployment was 28.2 percent, highest in the nation. In the Las Vegas statistical area, the rate was 33.5 percent with a labor force of 1,063,731 and 356,652 out of work after the governor ordered non-essential businesses including resorts to shut down the slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

In the Reno metro area, unemployment was 19.6 percent with 44,689 out of work in a labor force of 227,600.

In Carson City, the jobless rate was 21.4 percent in April with 4,952 unemployed out of 23,131 workers.

Officials from the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation say no part of the state escaped damage with jobless rates in rural areas ranging broadly from 10-20 percent.

Churchill County reported a rate of 12.8 percent. There are 9,435 in Churchill’s labor force and 1,203 out of work while Douglas County reported 19.3 percent, 3,956 jobless in a pool of 20,454. Lyon County’s rate was 20.1 percent — 4,159 out of work in a labor force of 20,735.

Chief DETR Economist Dave Schmidt said the April report captures the impact of the pandemic of the Nevada labor market. Until the pandemic, the state’s jobless rate had consistently hovered around 4 percent with some areas such as Reno below 3 percent.