Nevada’s workforce is expanding thanks to AI boom and economic diversification

The sparsely populated state known for its world-class casinos and dry desert climate has become a bright spot in America’s depressed job market.

Nevada’s workforce grew by 1.9% from April 2025 to 2026, the highest among all states, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Nationally, this rate rose by just 0.2% over the same period.

About 12% of new U.S. jobs were created in Nevada in the past 12 months, according to the data. This is a huge benefit for the Silver State, which is home to only about 1% of the nation’s population.

Nevada’s economic leaders say their success is the culmination of years of efforts to diversify business activities beyond gambling and entertainment. Home to 3.3 million residents, Nevada has long benefited from its proximity to California and is becoming a hub for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Economically, Nevada is “a relatively small state in the same league as California, Texas and Florida,” said David Schmidt, chief economist for the state’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. The job market in particular is showing “really amazing numbers that we’re seeing.”

“Broad-based” workforce growth

Nevada saw the most growth in professional and business services jobs last year, which Schmidt attributed to favorable state tax policies. Jobs in education and health services were also top contributors, part of a national trend for health care to drive job growth.

Companies have long sought new or expanded mines in Nevada, Schmidt said, recently driven by abundant supplies of lithium, a key component of batteries used to run AI models. The economists also said that Nevada’s 110,000 square miles of open land makes it attractive for building data centers and other AI-related infrastructure.

One of the few signs of contraction in Nevada’s labor economy is in government employment, which has declined over the past year and was expected to see an even stronger economic expansion. But even there, Schmidt said, Nevada is less affected than other states by President Trump’s efforts to curb government employment because it has a small number of federal employees.

At first glance, the strength of Nevada’s labor market is surprising given the downturn in the state’s iconic gambling industry. Revenue across the Las Vegas Strip’s largest casinos fell nearly 4% from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025, according to data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board released this month.

But the economy of the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which accounts for the majority of the state’s population, is becoming less and less dependent on gaming. The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance told CNBC that an analysis of federal data found that about 60% of new jobs in the region from 2016 to 2025 will be in industries other than hospitality, construction and government.

“What stands out most when you look at the data is how widespread the growth is,” Schmidt said.

Nevada is bucking what economists have described as a national “unemployment boom” in a job market with “fewer jobs and fewer layoffs.” However, the domestic labor market may now be thawing. Nonfarm payroll growth was more than double what Wall Street expected in May. The BLS is scheduled to release an updated breakdown of employment by state next week.

“Untapped” talent pool

According to online job site Indeed, the number of job openings in Nevada has increased by about 20% compared to February 2020, and the number of job openings nationwide has increased by about 2%. Staffing firm ManpowerGroup said demand for workers in Nevada was stronger than the average state in the second quarter.

Gusto, a payroll platform for small and medium-sized businesses, told CNBC that the majority of jobs in Nevada likely come from large companies, and that Nevada’s net employment rate is low compared to other regions.

But despite the apparent growth, Nevada’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remains above the national average, which may reflect an expanding workforce that has continued to recover since the coronavirus pandemic, said Stephen Miller, an economics professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“So many people have lost their jobs” since 2020, Miller said. “I’m still catching up.”

The rapid growth in the labor force is evidenced by Nevada’s higher-than-average labor force participation rate, a measure of the working-age population who are employed or looking for work. Schmidt said this is a boon for employers looking to expand their workforce in the state.

LV Petroleum CEO Chris Roach has seen this story unfold as he has hired hundreds of people to staff the company’s restaurants and travel centers over the past year.

Roach found it “very easy” to find staff, sometimes receiving more than 100 applications for management positions. LV Petroleum’s expanding headquarters also has an abundance of white-collar workers, some of whom have worked in Las Vegas casinos, to hire in areas such as finance and human resources.

“It’s a great state to operate in,” Roach said. “There’s a lot of untapped talent.”

beyond the strip

Local economic advocates said Nevada needs to aggressively recruit businesses and attract workers if it is to continue to lead in job growth.

The Sunbelt state’s population has skyrocketed in recent decades, and economists attribute this in part to its proximity to California. Nevada’s resident population jumped more than 62% from 2000 to 2025, far outpacing the roughly 21% increase seen nationally, according to federal data.

One of the new residents is Emma Kesselich, who came to Las Vegas from the Washington, D.C., area last summer. The Washington metropolitan area, which includes suburbs in Virginia and Maryland, has lost thousands of jobs thanks to President Trump’s federal government efficiency measures.

At first, Keselich was surprised to find so many families in the area, known as an entertainment hub, and close to natural attractions. As vice president of the Las Vegas World Economic Alliance, Mr. Keselich touts the area’s short commute times and relatively affordable prices when promoting the area to businesses.

Nevada’s cost of living in the first quarter was lower than neighboring states such as California, Idaho and Arizona, according to Missouri-based government researchers. Average hourly wages in Nevada rose nearly 6% from 2024 to 2025, the fifth-largest increase among all states, according to a CNBC analysis of BLS data.

“People think Las Vegas is just the Strip,” Kezelich said. “There’s more than meets the eye.”