Las Vegas jobless rate moves lower, but still among highest in US

Las Vegas’ jobless rate has moved down this year amid an uptick in employment totals and improved visitor volume in America’s casino capital.

But locally, the unemployment rate is still among the highest in the nation for big metro areas.

The Las Vegas-area’s unemployment rate in May, 5.3 percent, was slightly below the year-ago level of 5.4 percent and down from 5.8 percent in January.

The tourism-dependent region had around 1.18 million employees as of May, up by 25,800 since January, according to non-seasonally adjusted federal data.

Nonetheless, Las Vegas’ jobless rate was third highest in the country among metro areas with at least 1 million people, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

It was topped only by Detroit, at 5.5 percent, and Fresno, California, at 7.4 percent. Honolulu had the lowest jobless rate, at 2.4 percent.

Such numbers are not stripped of normal seasonal fluctuations in headcount. Seasonally adjusted data still shows higher employee totals in Las Vegas since January, albeit a much-smaller increase of 4,600.

Las Vegas consultant John Restrepo, owner of RCG Economics, said in April that overall job numbers were “decent” but that the economy was not exactly “super healthy.”

Visitor volume

For many jobhunters, finding new employment has proved maddeningly difficult.

Adam Cortez attended a job fair in Las Vegas in March after he sent out 200-plus applications over the past three years and landed only a few calls on them.

He already had a job, but he wanted to switch industries and figured he would improve his chances by meeting recruiters and hiring managers in-person.

“Hopefully that will change something,” he said.

More than 6,500 jobseekers attended the job fair that day at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with organizers saying this marked a record-high for the annual event.

Overall, Southern Nevada relies heavily on visitors traveling here to spend big eating, drinking, gambling, partying and going to shows and conventions to fuel the local economy.

Locally and nationally, personal finances have been squeezed this year by higher gas prices and rising inflation, and tourism levels in Las Vegas are effectively flat in 2026.

Around 16.5 million people visited Las Vegas this year through May, up 0.3 percent, or an increase of 46,300 people, from the same five-month stretch last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Still, that’s a big improvement from 2025, when people cut back on Vegas vacations amid a series of financial headwinds and as President Donald Trump’s trade wars sparked widespread economy anxiety.

Around 38.5 million people visited Las Vegas last year, down 7.5 percent — or a drop of more than 3 million people — from 2024, according to LVCVA data.

‘Steady progress’ in labor market

Statewide, the labor market kept showing “steady progress” in May, adding jobs over the month despite the steep loss of jobs in Las Vegas from Spirit Airlines, according to a recent report from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Spirit shut down in early May and told state officials that 999 employees in Las Vegas were losing their jobs as a result.

Nevada’s unemployment rate in May, 5.2 percent, was tied for third highest in the country with Oregon and Washington state, according to federal data.

But over the past year, total employment statewide rose 1.8 percent, the fastest job-growth rate in the nation, state officials reported last month.

“This trend is being driven by a diverse set of industries, sustaining job gains despite softer performance in the leisure and hospitality sector,” DETR chief economist David Schmidt said in a news release.