Joining a month-over-month dip from December 2024 to January 2025, seasonally adjusted statewide construction employment shows a year-over-year decline of 0.4%.
Total construction employment accounts for 111,000 jobs in the Silver State, which equates to 7.0% of total non-farm jobs. Employment in the sector decreased by 1.2% MoM, netting a loss of 1,300 jobs, according to Current Employment Statistics by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The construction sector is divided into Construction of Buildings and Specialty Trade Contractors. Construction of buildings saw a monthly decrease of 700 jobs, or 3.9%. The subsector represents 17,400 total jobs. The monthly loss drove the subsector into the red, having a YoY decrease of 200 positions, or 1.1%. The subsector sits far behind its all-time maximum of 26,500 positions. It accounts for 1.1% of total non-farm employment.
Specialty trade contractors experienced a MoM decrease of 2,600 positions, which equates to a 3.1% reduction. The subsector currently represents 80,000 positions. In contrast to construction of buildings, this subsector has still maintained YoY growth, with a current marker of 1,200 new positions, or 1.5%. This subsector accounts for 5.1% of total non-farm employment.
Non-Construction Fields
Total private non-farm employment across the state saw a total MoM reduction of 5,800 positions, or 0.4%. Despite the monthly loss, employment has still grown over the year. Nevada has seen a YoY growth of 13,800 positions.
Manufacturing, a field closely related to construction, remained stagnant with a 0.1% MoM increase. The field is stable, only experiencing a 0.6% YoY growth. The Nondurable Goods subsector saw a decline of 0.9%. Manufacturing is close to its all-time high of 67,600 employees, with current numbers reaching 67,400 people.
Real estate and Rental and Leasing experienced a slight MoM increase. A total of 300 jobs were gained in the subsector, which equates to a 0.9% increase. The subsector remains strong, having a total employment count of 32,100 people. YoY, the subsector has maintained a 1.3% growth of 400 people.
The steepest monthly declines were seen by State Government at 2.4%, and Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities at 2.0%.
The sector accounting for the greatest volume of jobs in Nevada remains Leisure and Hospitality, coming in at 23% of employment. The sector experienced a MoM reduction of 1,300 jobs but still boasts a YoY growth of 400 positions.
Unemployment
The BLS also reported Nevada maintained its position as the state with the highest unemployment rate in the country. It’s list also included the District of Columbia, leaving Nevada ranked 51st in the nation.
As of December, Nevada’s unemployment rate was 5.8%. It was followed by California, with an unemployment rate of 5.5%.
Note from the BEXperts: We are noticing discrepancies in the BLS data from Nevada Workforce compared to end of 2024 data. We have requested additional clarification and will provide an update when avialable. We intentionally kept the chart displays to end of 2024 only while waiting for clarification.