Las Vegas unemployment fell to 4.8 percent in September, but the rate still ranks among the highest of large US metro areas

What happened

The unemployment rate in the Las Vegas area was 4.8 percent in September, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. That is down from 5.7 percent in September of last year. The improvement still leaves the valley behind most other big metro areas in the country.

The figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, according to the Review-Journal. The report also covered local job gains by industry, visitor counts and business sentiment.

How Las Vegas compares nationally

Seventh highest among large metros

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Las Vegas tied with Tucson, Arizona, for the seventh highest jobless rate among the nation's 56 largest metro areas. Cleveland had the lowest rate in September at 1.9 percent. Fresno, California, had the highest at 7.3 percent.

A note on the numbers

Metro-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted, the Review-Journal noted. That means they still include the normal ups and downs in hiring that happen at different times of year. The local job growth figure from the state, by contrast, is based on seasonally adjusted data.

Where the jobs are

Employers in the Las Vegas area added 21,800 jobs over the past year, an increase of 1.9 percent, the state employment department reported. Statewide, job growth over the past year sped up slightly, with gains in healthcare, business services and construction.

Leisure and hospitality

An estimated 302,800 people in the area worked in leisure and hospitality as of September, according to non-seasonally adjusted federal data cited by the Review-Journal. That is by far the largest industry in Southern Nevada. Employment in the sector rose 0.2 percent from a year earlier.

Faster-growing sectors

Other industries grew faster. About 186,600 people worked in professional and business services, up 6.3 percent year over year. Education and health services employed 143,200 people, up 5.1 percent, and construction employed 82,700, up 2.6 percent.

Visitors and business confidence

The local economy depends heavily on visitors who come to eat, drink, gamble, see shows and attend conventions, the Review-Journal noted. The paper reported that visitor volume has largely leveled off after a sizable drop last year. Personal finances, locally and nationally, have been squeezed this year by higher gas prices and elevated inflation.

About 25.8 million people visited Las Vegas this year through August, down 0.1 percent from the same eight months last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Recent reports on Caesars' Las Vegas revenue and September gaming win offer more context on the tourism picture.

Business leaders more upbeat

Confidence among Southern Nevada business leaders jumped significantly in the third quarter, according to UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research. Those leaders still expected national and local economic conditions to worsen. However, they expected the decline to come in "smaller magnitudes" than in the prior quarter, the center found.

What to watch next

• Whether the local jobless rate keeps falling from September's 4.8 percent, after ranking seventh highest among the 56 largest metros.
• Visitor volume, which the LVCVA reported at 25.8 million through August, down 0.1 percent from last year.
• Business leaders surveyed by UNLV still expected national and local conditions to worsen, though by smaller magnitudes than last quarter.
• The effect of higher gas prices and elevated inflation, which the Review-Journal said have squeezed personal finances this year.