The coronavirus pandemic has hurt the economies of several densely populated and important financial hubs of the US. However, one of the hardest hits of this pandemic is the state of Nevada where the unemployment rate is the highest in the country.

Unemployment shoots up

The unemployment rate of Nevada in April was 28.2%, which is the highest in the country. It is also the worst unemployment number in any US state since the Great Depression of 1933. the chief economist for the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR), David Schmidt said,

“They are sobering numbers, far in excess of anything we have experienced as a state before now.”

He added that there is no precedent data available for a situation like this and there is no previous event in which they witnessed something unfold on such scale or speed. He added that there will be a corresponding decline in the number of unemployed people as businesses around Nevada start to reopen and people get back to work.

Casinos lead to higher unemployment

The Nevada economy is fueled primarily by casinos located in the state. The casinos have been closed since mid-March. According to the American Gaming Associating (AGA), at least 206,000 employees working in Nevada casinos are unemployed right now. Steve Sisolak, the governor of Nevada, will be allowing casinos to reopen in the state on June 4. However, he is not confident that the state’s economy could revive itself simply by reopening business. They will have to discover a vaccine for the coronavirus in order to get back into a normal routine. Speaking to the Vegas Chamber last week, he said that international travelers won’t be back until they feel immune to the virus.

The three largest employers in the state are casino operators- MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and Las Vegas Sands. Casino operators take up another three spaces in the top employers with Boyd Gaming, Wynn Resorts, and International Gaming Technology (IGT).

The Nevada market was experiencing growth before the pandemic began. In February, the unemployment rate of the state was only 3.6%. The recovery rate of the state will now depend on the willingness of both domestic and international patrons to come back to Vegas for gaming. Since the economy is heavily dependent on tourism compared to other states, it may have to work harder to get things back to normal.