Study: Nevada lags in offering full-time jobs
Nevada is the third-hardest state in which to find full-time work, behind New Mexico and Alaska, according a report by the news and opinion website 24/7 Wall St.
The state had an 11.9 percent underemployment rate, compared to the national rate of 9.5 percent, during the 12-month period analyzed through the first quarter of this year, according to the report released Tuesday.
The underemployment rate is a combination of workers who are highly skilled but working in low-paying or low-skill jobs, along with part-time workers who would prefer to be working full time.
Nevada officials chimed in with several notes of caution on the report.
Cost-cutting employers
Douglas Mcintyre, president and editor of 24/7 Wall St., said the high underemployment rate is due to cost-conscious employers.
“Since the recession, companies have learned how to bring people on board and employ them for the minimum number of hours, so that they can avoid paying them things like benefits,” Mcintyre said.
He and his staff determined the ease of finding full-time work based on state underemployment and unemployment rates, average annual wages and employment, labor force size, and socioeconomic indicators, including poverty and educational attainment rates.
Jeremy Aguero of Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis said via email that, while underemployment remains “an issue” in Nevada, employer decisions aren’t the only contributor.
“There are also industries and sectors that lend themselves to part-time employment,” he said.
Diversifying the economy
Bill Anderson, the chief economist for the Nevada Department of Employment, Training andrehabilitation, agreed.
Full-time employment will follow state diversification efforts away from hospitality, gaming and construction, he said. “These kinds of structural changes take time. They don’t happen overnight,” but they are happening.
The department reported in July that the largest year-to-date employ
FULL TIME
sales to justify those hours.
Poor sales may not be the only factor. Thieves like to strike grocery stores after midnight for products they can easily resell, said Derek Belanus, a commercial real estate adviser with real estate firm Northcap Commercial.
The changing hours could also speak to greater trends, said Hayim Mizrachi, president of real estate firm MDL Group.
More people are interested in buying groceries online, he said. Earlier this year, five Walmarts announced an online ordering service, and grocery delivery service Instacart started work in the valley.
The hours shift may also speak to Las Vegas growth, Mizrachi said.
The area is beyond a 24-hour gaming town, including more industries and more people who work traditional hours. As a result, locals have become more accepting of changes that in the past would cause chaos.
“It’s kind of like how the casinos are able to charge for parking without riots in the streets,” Mizrachi said. “It’s because we’ve matured from a town to a city. Not one local is happy about casinos charging for parking. But we accepted it and either Uber to the Strip when we go or pay.”
As for Nick Martinez, he said he’s gotten used to the shifts he works as an events coordinator for a local clothing and nightlife company, a job he’s held for about six months.
By starting at 6 p.m. and ending at 2 a.m., he misses out on daytime fun and errands. He can’t go hiking at night or visit bricks-and-mortar banks. He shops at grocery stores multiple times a week for meals and for quick eats and usually sees about 15 other people in the store, he said.
His free time after work is spent with other friends in local nightlife. But given their livelihoods, meeting at a bar feels like hanging out in someone else’s office.
“You can’t do anything at night out here,” he said, “except drink.”
Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-4602. Follow @ wademillward on Twitter.