This doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but the unemployment rate in October in Las Vegas took dubious honors among big metro areas, a reflection of the Covid-19 pandemic effect on the local economy that is tourism-based.
Some 13.8 percent of the area’s workforce was unemployed, tops among 51 metro areas with at least 1 million populations, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said December 3, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
New Orleans had the second-highest jobless rate, at 11.3 percent, while Salt Lake City had the lowest, at 4.1 percent, according to the bureau.
The pandemic has kept people away from the region, which depends heavily on tourism, an industry shattered by the virus.
Around 1.9 million people visited Las Vegas in October, up 9 percent from September but down 49.4 percent from October of 2019, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported.
There is a glimmer of light on the horizon, as Nevada could receive limited quantities of a coronavirus vaccine and its first federal shipments of shots by mid-December, Governor Steve Sisolak said December 2. Sisolak—who tested positive for the virus in mid-November—announced upcoming “adjustments” to the state’s vaccine distribution plan during a virtual press conference joined by the state’s top vaccine administrators.
The plan divides the state’s population into four tiers, and a bunch of subcategories. Health care workers are at the top of the list, as they are most at risk. Residents of long-term care facilities are second, along with staff at these locations, coinciding with a CDC advisory panel. Then comes emergency management workers and prison inmates.
State officials say about 173,000 residents fall into the first tier of vaccine recipients. The general population should not expect the vaccine until the spring of 2021, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
The vaccine rollout will be managed by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, which will work with doctors, pharmacies and other immunization providers the agency worked with during past pandemics.
The vaccine update follows a surge in cases forcing a statewide pause. Private gatherings were limited to 10 people from no more than two households and public events topped off at 50 people under the governor’s directive which went into effect November 24. The order also required masks to be worn at all times when around someone outside your immediate household.
“If this crisis continues to get worse, we’ll be left in the unfortunate position of having to take stronger actions,” Sisolak said. “I’ve been clear from the start: we can’t overwhelm our hospitals and put lives in danger.”
The Nevada Hospital Association on December 2 reported a record-high 1,589 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. Some 78 percent of the state’s nearly 6,900 staffed hospital beds are occupied.
