Lombardo: “The unemployment rate hasn’t gotten better.”
A new report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that under Joe Lombardo, Nevada’s unemployment rate in February remained the highest in the nation at 5.8%. Since February 2024, Nevada’s unemployment has increased .5% and is higher today than when Lombardo took office in 2023 and higher than at any time in 2022 when he was running for higher office. Last week, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) reported that in January unemployment increased in every single county. Another recent report by the BLS found that in 2024, under Lombardo, Nevada averaged a nearly 6% unemployment rate, the highest in the nation. Last week, Lombardo told a crowd of supporters, “we don’t have a lot of people running around Nevada that are unemployed” just days before he admitted in an interview that the “unemployment rate hasn’t gotten better” on his watch.
While on the campaign trail, Lombardo said the governor could “control” Nevada’s unemployment rate, yet since taking office, he has done little while Nevadans struggle to find work. Ironically, throughout Lombardo’s term, Nevada’s unemployment rate has failed to reach pre-pandemic levels and has again risen to be the highest in the nation. Lombardo made the unemployment rate a central part of his campaign and has failed to own the fact that under him, Nevada had one of the lowest job growth rates in the nation.
Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Tai Sims:
“Joe Lombardo is attempting to gaslight and confuse voters on the economy, but the reality is Nevada’s unemployment rate remains the highest in the nation. Under Lombardo, unemployment and food insecurity continue to rise while the cost of housing and health care become more expensive, yet he consistently blocked efforts to lower costs for Nevadans struggling in his poor economy – including vetoing legislation that would have lowered housing and prescription drugs costs and guaranteed school meals for every student.”
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