Nevada’s workforce is booming thanks to the AI ​​boom, which is diversifying the economy

The sparsely populated state known for its world-class casinos and dry desert climate has become a hot spot in the hot US job market.

Nevada’s workforce grew by 1.9% from April 2025 to 2026, the highest rate of any state, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Nationally, that rate increased by 0.2% over the same period.

About 12% of new jobs in the US were created in Nevada during those 12 months, the data show. That’s a huge advantage for the Silver State, home to about 1% of the nation’s population.

Economic leaders in Nevada say their success is the culmination of years of work to diversify business activities away from gambling and entertainment. Home to 3.3 million residents, Nevada has long benefited from its proximity to California and is increasingly becoming a hub for intelligence infrastructure.

Economically, Nevada is “a small state that is talked about in the same vein as California, Texas, Florida,” said David Schmidt, chief economist at the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. The job market, in particular, puts up “really remarkable numbers that we’re seeing.”

The ‘spread’ of the workforce

Over the past year, Nevada has seen significant growth in professional and business occupations, which Schmidt attributes to the state’s favorable tax policies. Education and health services positions were also high contributors, part of a national trend of health care job gains.

Companies have long sought Nevada for new or expanded mines, these days driven by an abundance of lithium, a key component of batteries used to help run AI models, Schmidt said. And Nevada’s 110,000-square miles provide large, attractive open spaces for building AI-related infrastructure such as data centers, the economist said.

One of the few signs of a slowdown in Nevada’s labor economy came in public sector jobs, which fell last year, slowing what could have been an even stronger expansion. Still, however, Schmidt said Nevada is less affected than other states by President Trump’s effort to curb government hiring, due to the small number of government workers.

At first glance, the strength of the Nevada labor market is surprising given the softness of the state’s iconic gambling industry. Major casinos on the Las Vegas Strip collectively saw revenue drop by about 4% between the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, according to Nevada Gaming Control Board data released this month.

But the economy of the Las Vegas metro area – home to a large share of the state’s population – has grown less and less dependent on gambling. An analysis of the organization’s data found that nearly 60% of new jobs in the region from 2016 to 2025 came from industries outside of hospitality, construction and government, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance told CNBC.

“If we look at the data, the thing that stands out the most is how much growth has increased,” said Schmidt.

Nevada is reeling from what economists have described as “rising unemployment,” and a “low, low-fire” job market. Now, the national labor market may be thawing, however: Nonfarm payrolls growth was more than double Wall Street’s forecast in May. The BLS is expected to release its latest state employment report next week.

An ‘untapped’ talent pool

Nevada-based job listings are up nearly 20% compared to February 2020, while the national total is up nearly 2%, according to Illy, an online job site. Staffing agency ManpowerGroup found that demand for workers rose better than normal in Nevada during the second quarter.

Most of the hiring in Nevada is likely to come from large companies, according to Gusto, a small and medium-sized business payroll platform that told CNBC its hiring rate is falling more in Nevada than the rest of the country.

For all the apparent growth, however, Nevada’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is higher than the national average, a possible indication of an increasing workforce recovering from the Covid pandemic, according to Stephen Miller, an economics professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“We had a lot of people out of work” as of 2020, Miller said. “We’re still going to catch up.”

The growing labor force is reflected in Nevada’s high above-labor rate – a measure of the number of working-age people who are employed or looking for work. That’s good for employers looking to fill the expansion in the state, Schmidt said.

LV Petroleum CEO Kris Roach saw this story as he brought in hundreds of workers last year to work in the company’s restaurants and resorts.

Roach found it “very easy” to find employees, sometimes receiving more than 100 applications for management openings. There are also a number of white-collar workers – some formerly employed at Las Vegas casinos – who will hire jobs in areas such as finance and human resources at LV Petroleum’s growing corporate office.

“It’s a great environment to work in,” Roach said. “There is a lot of untapped talent.”

Beyond the Strip

Nevada needs to actively lobby businesses and attract workers to continue to lead in job growth, local economic advocates say.

The Sun Belt region’s population has increased dramatically in recent decades, which economists attribute in part to its proximity to California. Nevada’s population increased more than 62% from 2000 to 2025, far outstripping the 21% increase seen nationally, federal data show.

One new resident is Emma Keserich, who arrived in Las Vegas last summer from the Washington, DC area. Metropolitan Washington, including parts of Virginia and Maryland, has lost thousands of jobs due to Trump’s plans for a more efficient federal government.

At first, Keserich was surprised by the number of families and nearby natural attractions in an area known for its recreation area. Keserich plays up short commute times and limited accessibility when pitching the region to businesses as vice president of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.

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

“People think Las Vegas is just a place,” Keserich said. “There’s more to it than meets the eye.”