Las Vegas serves as a good barometer for the state of the job market post-Covid. It’s heavy on hospitality, an industry hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Today, jobs are plentiful. It’s the lack of employees to fill those jobs that is at issue, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The common rationale for this situation says folks refused to seek a job because they were getting so much more in unemployment benefits with the federal stimulus add on. That pump has run dry, at least for additional benefits. But jobs still struggle to be filled, blowing a whole in that theory.
Nevada’s unemployment rate ranked highest in the country for July and August and declined from 7.7 to 7.5 in September. It’s still high. Job fairs draw just a fraction of applications they did in the past.
Broadway Pizzeria has a handful of open positions but can’t get applicants, despite a $15 an hour wage.
“Anywhere you go, any of these places, everyone’s in the same boat,” co-owner Anthony Rossi said. “We’re essential workers. We’ve been doing this, working straight through the pandemic. Nobody got a break, no one sat at home. It’s tough (to hire and retain) for that reason.”
The lack of applicants has affected drivers, teachers, and other non-hospitality employees, among others.
“A lot of what we’re seeing is that people are really reassessing their priorities as it involves work,” UNLV labor economist Jeff Waddoups said. “It’s not just around, ‘Do I want to work or not?’ The pandemic allowed people to step back and say, ‘Is it really worth it for me to work now?’”
Businesses and experts anticipated more growth in September throughout the country with the federal unemployment benefits ending. The situation skewed even more because 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in August.
“A lot of us thought there would be a return of workers once the benefits were discontinued. And I think what that means is we don’t understand workers well enough,” Waddoups said. “I think maybe we just overestimate how important money is.”
Other job seekers want flexibility and ease of job applications. So, they turn to gig work.
Despite the influx of job postings, experts say it’s important to note that appropriate qualifications matter.
“We talk about high level numbers a lot: this many jobs created, this level of unemployment and whatnot,” said David Schmidt, chief economist at the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. “But ultimately, all of those big numbers are really made up of lots and lots of individual people with their own unique circumstances. The jobs that people might be trying to fill and the skills, qualifications and abilities that people have don’t always line up.”
