The condition of the Las Vegas economy remained a key focus throughout 2025, with visitation and gaming revenue figures from November suggesting casino operators continued to post solid results despite a prolonged slowdown in tourism. More recent data, however, points to growing pressure on the city’s labour market.
A report issued last week by Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) shows that Las Vegas lost approximately 4,700 jobs between September and November. The leisure and hospitality sector accounted for nearly half of those losses, shedding 2,200 positions, while construction recorded the second-largest decline with 1,700 jobs eliminated.
In the report, DETR chief economist David Schmidt described Nevada’s economy as “relatively stable,” noting that job losses have largely been offset by wage growth. Even so, he said the figures “present a mixed outlook for the labour market as 2025 comes to a close.”
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics places Nevada’s unemployment rate at 5.3%, the third-highest in the country behind California and Washington, DC. The rate is even higher in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, at 5.7%. Meanwhile, tourism indicators continue to lag. Visitor volumes through November were down more than 7% compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Airport passenger traffic declined nearly 10% year-over-year in November and was down 5.5% overall for the year.
These combined trends have weighed heavily on business confidence in southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Business Confidence Index, compiled by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, fell in the fourth quarter to its lowest level since the Great Recession. The report noted that hiring sentiment has remained below average for six consecutive quarters, leaving many local business leaders anticipating deteriorating economic conditions at both the national and regional levels.
2025 was to be ‘banner year’
One of the largest labour organisations in Las Vegas is Culinary Union Local 226, which represents roughly 60,000 non-gaming workers across the region. In late 2023 and early 2024, the union used strike action as leverage in negotiations with casino-resort operators, ultimately securing new collective bargaining agreements that delivered cumulative wage increases of 32%, along with enhanced benefits.
Those labour actions posed potential risks to major city events, including the Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix in 2023 and the Super Bowl in 2024. Despite the uncertainty, both events proceeded successfully and together generated an estimated $2.5 billion in economic impact for Las Vegas. Since then, the Culinary Union has continued to grow its influence, achieving its long-standing objective of unionising the entire Las Vegas Strip.
Culinary Union secretary-treasurer Ted Pappageorge told iGB that union members entered 2025 with high expectations, anticipating a strong year following the record-setting post-pandemic recovery.
Pappageorge said his greatest concern about the slowdown extending into 2026 is that it appears to be driven primarily by policy decisions rather than external shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic or labour disputes. He pointed to US President Donald Trump’s trade policies and strained international relations as factors weighing on tourism and, by extension, the Las Vegas economy.
“For Las Vegas, the ‘Trump Slump’ is real,” Pappageorge said. “It’s happening right now.”
Will ‘no tax on tips’ help ease strain on Las Vegas economy?
With tax season now under way, Las Vegas workers may receive some financial relief from a Trump-backed policy change: a tax credit on tipped income included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Congress in July. Given Nevada’s heavy reliance on tourism, the state has a high concentration of tipped employees and is one of only six states that require employers to pay the full minimum wage regardless of tips received.
The “no tax on tips” provision is not unlimited, as deductions are capped at $25,000. Even so, the policy was a key campaign message before and after Trump’s 2024 election, during which he increased his share of the vote in Clark County to 47%, up from 44% in 2020.
Eligible workers can begin claiming the tip-related deduction on their 2025 tax returns. Several occupations central to the Las Vegas economy qualify, including four gaming-specific roles as well as broader hospitality and entertainment positions. While more than 400,000 Nevada workers could potentially be eligible, the number who will actually benefit remains uncertain. Some aspects of the policy lack clarity, and many workers may not earn enough to owe federal income taxes in the first place.
Culinary Union secretary-treasurer Ted Pappageorge said the credit will provide some help but pointed to drawbacks, including how it affects married couples where both partners earn tips and the exclusion of automatic gratuities.
“‘No tax on tips’ will offer some relief, and there have been other recent proposals as well,” Pappageorge said. “But what we really need is a broader course correction. Travel, tourism and hospitality need to be genuinely welcomed again.”
