Patrick Nichols, president and CEO of the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, describes the resort’s renovation project, Sphere integration, tourism trends and market share gains.
The job market in Las Vegas, Nevada’s economic engine, has stagnated while tourism on the Strip has declined.
Nevada’s unemployment rate fell slightly from 5.4% to 5.3%, but that decline reflects fewer people working or looking for work, according to the August 2025 economic report from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR).
The state’s labor force shrank by about 1,300 people in August, while total employment held steady at about 1.57 million jobs, which is unchanged from a year ago and down about 3,800 jobs from July.
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David Schmidt, DETR’s chief economist, classified the labor market as “largely stationary.” However, he drew particular attention to the fact that private sector employment fell by 6,000 jobs over the month, led by statistically significant declines in the construction, accommodation and food sectors.
The casino floor of the Resorts World Las Vegas hotel and casino is seen on June 24, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (BRIDGET BENNETT/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We have not experienced an increase in new claims for unemployment benefits from workers in these sectors and data on hours worked and hourly wages remain stable, indicating continued demand for workers,” Schmidt said.
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The poor labor market is because tourism remains weak, a problem that has persisted for several months.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which publishes a monthly summary of tourism data from various agencies, including the LVCVA, Harry Reid International Airport, the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the NV Dept. of Transportation (NDOT), reported that Southern Nevada’s tourism industry showed clear signs of strain in June 2025, with visitor volume down 11.3% compared to the same month last year.
People are sitting at a poker table in a casino. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Getty Images)
Conference attendance also fell by 10.7% in June, underscoring weak demand for leisure and business travel.
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Hotel performance statistics also highlighted the decline in tourism, with occupancy rates falling 6.5% percentage points to 78.7%. As a result, revenue per available room fell by almost 14%, indicating lower profitability for resorts and hotels, according to the report.
However, the report noted that gaming revenue in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, rose modestly by 3.5%, indicating that visitors who came spent more.
A Spirit Airlines plane lands at Harry Reid International Airport on October 14, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Image/Getty Images)
Still, service workers in the area lament that declining foot traffic on the strip has taken a bite out of their revenues, which rely heavily on tips.
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Sebastian Espinoza, a bus worker at Caesars Palace who works on an on-call basis, told local news station KSNV in August that he has rarely received a call to pick up a service this year. Despite having ten years of experience in the sector, Espinoza says he has not been able to find work anywhere else, according to the newspaper.
