The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reports Nevada’s unemployment rate decreased statewide in September.
The raw rate — not seasonally adjusted — came in at 6.4 percent while the seasonally adjusted rate was a percent higher at 7.5.
The statewide rate is elevated by the fact the Las Vegas metropolitan area is at 7.4 percent. That remains the highest jobless rate of any Nevada county but it’s still eight-tenths lower than in August.
Reno, by comparison, is at just 3.5 percent, — also down eight-tenths from August and Carson City at 3.9 percent — down seven-tenths from a month earlier.
There are currently just 1,019 people looking for work in Carson City and 9,235 in Reno.
In Las Vegas, where the hospitality and leisure industry remains hard hit from COVID-19, the number of jobless is 82,792.
In the surrounding area, Lyon and Douglas counties are highest at 4 percent and 4.5 percent respectively.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased 12.5 percent to just 6,852 in September. Claims have been declining steadily since February of this year. The department’s Chief Economist Dave Schmidt says there are 117,302 unemployed individuals currently but that is 82,432 fewer than in September 2020.
The total labor force in the state is 1,562,609, an increase of 27,435 compared to a year ago.
