Nevada added back 8,200 jobs in December; down 96,000 from 1 year ago

Nevada added back 8,200 jobs in December which officials say is a continuing indication the state is recovering.

Total employment in the state is 1,328,300.

But there’s a ways to go as that total is still down 96,900 compared to December 2019.

Nevada’s unemployment rate for the final month of 2020 was 9.2 percent. That is down 1.2 percent from November but up 5.5 percent from a year ago.

“I’m encouraged to see that employment has increased and the unemployment rate has decreased,” said Elisa Cafferatta, head of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Chief Economist Dave Schmidt said that is the eighth consecutive month of employment growth in the Silver State.

The major impact in Nevada remains the leisure and hospitality industry, Nevada’s biggest employer. Schmidt said the December labor force participation rate also fell below 60 percent for the first time since May with a growing number of individuals neither working nor looking for work.

“As we enter 2021, Nevada remains one of the states feeling the deepest impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.