Nevada Hardest Hit Employment-Wise Due To Covid-19 Mitigation Measures

The Economic Policy Institute /EPI/, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank organization that focuses on conducting research and analyses of economic data, claims that Nevada will be the most affected state in terms of new unemployment due to the temporary closures of non-essential businesses.

Nevada Tops The List

Nevada that has significant exposure to the leisure, hospitality and gaming industry with 2 out of 5 jobs, is projected to lose 66,656 jobs, 5.3% of total private sector employment, for the leisure and hospitality sector only the loss is expected to reach 40.2% of total private jobs.

The EPI report that is built around the median of the projections from three investment banks, Goldman Sachs, Deutche Bank and J.P. Morgan, is projecting total job loss across the US from the coronavirus spread mitigation measures to reach 3 million by June 2020.

It is no surprise that Nevada is the state that tops the lists of the EPI projections, as of January 355,300 people in the state are employed in the leisure and hospitality industry, 25% of the workforce in the state.

After the call from Gov. Steve Sisolak for social distancing and closure of non-essential businesses, which was later doubled down by turning it into a formal order on March 20, most of the hospitality and gaming venues closed doors and their employees were either laid off or put on furlough.

Tripled Weekly Claims Number

Indeed, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation /DETR/, the week ending March 14 is marking a sharp increase in the weekly numbers for unemployment insurance, nearly tripling the average, a rise unseen for decades.

“Weekly initial claims and continued claims filed since January 2020 to March 7, 2020 remained relatively steady, while claims in the week of March 14, 2020 showed an initial increase due to temporary closure of business functions beginning in some areas of the state.”

DETR, Nevada

The initial call from the governor came several days after that, though, a fact that suggests the numbers are much higher, as there are about 206,000 people employed in the casinos in Nevada, according to the American Gaming Association /AGA/, and some of the largest state employers such as MGM Resorts announced reduction in its workforce prior to the governor’s actions to force temporary casino closures.

Most of the casino operators in the state, though expressing its support for the measures, raise their concerns that temporary closure of operations will likely be extended beyond the initial period and will cause further damage to their financials. The AGA continues to beat the drum that the business downturn in the sector would impact the economy with up to $21 billion, and the industry would require significant government help to survive the current coronavirus crisis.