Editorial: Why Nevada leads the nation in job growth

Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jul 1, 2026

Published in Op Eds

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Here’s the truism that powers the free market. Economic growth hinges on what the government doesn’t do far more than what the government does do.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released an update on state-level employment. Over the past year, only two states have had a substantial increase in nonfarm payroll employment. They are Nevada and North Carolina. Nevada added 29,200 jobs, an increase of 1.8 percent. Employment in North Carolina rose by 1.2%. That means Nevada leads the nation in job growth.

In almost every other state, employment stayed generally flat. The one exception was Virginia, where employment declined by 1.2%. In Washington, D.C., it dropped by 5.3%. This is an indication that President Donald Trump has made good on his promise to trim the federal workforce.

It’s important to understand the disconnect between these overall job numbers and Nevada’s unemployment rate, which is 5.2%. That’s on the high side compared with other states. The reason: The unemployment rate considers both the number of people employed and the number of people looking for work.

In some instances, a job-creating state can have a higher unemployment rate because it’s attracting more people into its workforce. That’s what happened in Nevada. Its civilian labor force grew by more than 32,000 from May 2025 to May 2026. In contrast, California, which has a 5.3% unemployment rate, saw its civilian labor force decline by more than 140,000 over the past year.

This is an example of why it’s important to dig deeper into statistics. Nevada and California have similar unemployment rates, but they have economies moving in opposite directions.

There are lots of reasons for this, but here’s a big one: Gov. Joe Lombardo has done a much better job than California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The key to Gov. Lombardo’s success was his aggressive work getting government out of the way. His first executive order was rescinding all emergency directives and other decrees connected to COVID-19.

Then Lombardo issued a subsequent executive order: He directed state agencies to repeal or streamline regulations in order to minimize “barriers to economic efficiency.” He also vetoed a host of terrible bills from legislative Democrats.

What a contrast to Newsom. About the only thing California produces efficiently these days is red tape. No wonder the state has lost population since 2020.

During his tenure, Lombardo has fought to keep taxes and regulations low. Look at the numbers. It worked. Lombardo’s approach led to more jobs for Nevadans.

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