David Schmidt, chief economist for Nevada's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, told the Economic Forum on Dec. 5 that Nevada's jobs picture has been steady rather than growing strongly: the available data for September showed roughly +5,000 jobs for the month and annual growth of about 0.1%. "Our unemployment rate is steady, at 5.3%," Schmidt said, and labor-force participation has also remained near recent levels (about 62.7%).

Schmidt noted that federal data publication was delayed earlier in the fall due to the recent federal shutdown, and the September release he presented is "very much hot off the presses." He said wage data remain firm, with hourly wages up roughly 5–6% year-over-year across many sectors and leisure and hospitality slightly lower (about 2.8%). "Over the last year, hourly wages have been generally exceeding the pace of inflation," he said.

On sector trends, Schmidt highlighted construction and parts of trade as areas of weakening: construction saw an August decline of roughly 4,000 jobs that partially reversed in September (about 1,000 jobs recovered), and wholesale and retail trade have been on a longer-term slide. By contrast, healthcare and private education are among the strongest and most predictable growth areas, and mining-support services and professional services also showed gains.

When members asked whether the construction slowdown was tied to particular geographies or types of work, Schmidt said most construction employment is in trade contractors—building construction and specialty trade contractors—and that occupations with elevated unemployment claims included electricians, carpenters and construction laborers. "It looks more like the sorts of construction work that you have in the residential housing side could also be on the commercial side," he said, while acknowledging some uncertainty in decomposing sub-sector changes.

Schmidt emphasized that some of the near-term volatility in monthly series can stem from seasonal hiring and single-month reversals. He also placed recent trends in a longer horizon—comparing 1-month, 1-year and 6-year views—to avoid over-interpreting short-term moves.

The forum followed with questions on specific occupations, data timing, and how population growth constraints (slowing migration and participation limits) may cap long-term employment gains.