Southern Nevada’s economy continued to expand in the third quarter of 2018 in terms of gaming revenue and taxable revenue, despite softer visitor volume numbers. The number of jobs in the Valley continued to increase as well, and commercial occupancy is up.
Unemployment in the Las Vegas-Paradise MSA stood at 4.9 percent as of August 2018, down from 5.2 percent in August 2017. Unemployment peaked in Southern Nevada at 14 percent in January 2011, and has been generally headed down ever since. The area’s previous low unemployment was 3.7 percent in December 2005. The latest national unemployment figure was 3.9 percent in August 2018, down from 4.4 percent in August 2017. The national labor force participation rate decreased to 62.7 percent in August 2018, 0.2 points lower than in August 2017, proving that not going to work remains popular with Americans, provided one can afford it.
