Las Vegas jobs grow faster than US overall, but wages rise slower, report finds

By Eli Segall
Las Vegas Review-Journal
August 31, 2026 – 2:43 pm

Las Vegas’ job growth surpassed the national average early this year, but wage increases in Southern Nevada lagged most of the country, a new report shows.

Total employment in Clark County was up 1.6 percent year-over-year in March, compared with a 0.1 percent bump nationwide. However, average weekly wages locally in the first quarter were up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 3.9 percent increase nationally, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Overall, Clark County’s pace of job growth was tied for 22nd among the nearly 380 counties tracked for the report – and its pace of wage growth was tied for 339th, the bureau reported Friday.

Brian Gordon, a principal with Las Vegas consulting firm Applied Analysis, said his group has gathered data from the bureau that shows higher wage hikes in Southern Nevada this year than what the agency just reported.

He described Las Vegas’ job market as relatively strong with real income growth…