The national economy has added jobs in early 2024, while Southern Nevada has experienced a boom in overall employment.
At the national level, employment ended the past year with 158.3 million workers, a 2 percent increase on the year. Job growth slowed compared to the post-pandemic recovery years of 2021 and 2022 that had annual increases of 5 and 3 percent, respectively.
National job growth hovered near 1.8 percent through the first five months of 2024. The steady addition of jobs has kept unemployment below 4 percent for the better part of the past two years. In May 2024, the unemployment rate remained historically low at 3.7 percent, although it ticked up month over month from 3.5 percent.
In Southern Nevada, the expanding job market has been the story of the region’s post-pandemic recovery. Regional employment grew annually by 4 percent in May 2024. That pace of growth ranked first among the 30 largest metropolitan areas, the seventh straight month that Southern Nevada has topped its peers in year-over-year job growth. This is not a new trend. In the 38 months since March 2021, Southern Nevada has ranked first in annual job growth for 21 months and top five for 36 months. Over that time, the region added nearly 231,000 jobs, equating to a 24.7 percent growth rate that ranked first among its peers. That growth rate was more than double the 11 percent average among the other 29 large metros.
Employment growth over the past year has been shared across industries. The leisure and hospitality industry added 10,100 jobs over the year, accounting for nearly a quarter of all regional job growth. Importantly, those jobs pushed the industry’s employment back to pre-pandemic employment levels and beyond. Another critical component of the post-pandemic economy is the rapid expansion of transportation and warehousing as online commerce exploded. In Southern Nevada, the industry added 7,100 jobs over the past year, making it the fastest-growing industry with a 10.4 percent growth rate. Since early 2020, the industry added more than 19,000 jobs, expanding by 33.9 percent.
The second-fastest-growing industry over the past year was construction, which grew 8.5 percent by adding 6,900 jobs to meet demand for new homes, commercial projects, roadways and other needs for a growing population. Construction demand spiked in the new year as the industry added 4,200 jobs in the first five months of 2024 alone.
While Southern Nevada has added jobs at a significant pace, the unemployment rate inched up to 5.2 percent in April 2024, the third-lowest rate since the pandemic began. However, compared to the pre-pandemic years, the current rate was elevated from the sub-4.5 percent rates that were common in 2018 and 2019.
After years of ups and downs, the stabilizing economy of today resembles the pre-pandemic economy at both the national and local levels. Strong job growth, particularly in Southern Nevada, will continue to be a key signal of overall economic stability, as growing employment signals underlying business demand while providing opportunities for a growing pool of workers.
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