John Locher / AP
The Las Vegas Strip is deserted as casinos and other business are closed because of the coronavirus outbreak, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, in Las Vegas.
Published Thursday, April 16, 2020 | 9:09 a.m.
Updated Thursday, April 16, 2020 | 10:59 a.m.
More than 60,000 Nevada residents filed unemployment claims last week, bringing to more than 300,000 the number of out-of-work people seeking benefit checks since casinos and businesses closed in mid-March amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to federal figures.
The U.S. Department of Labor report about the new joblessness claims on Thursday came as Nevada health officials said the state’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak is at least 137, with more than 3,300 people infected.
The Nevada jobless rate jumped to 6.3% in March, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported Wednesday, a dramatic increase from all-time lows of 3.6% in January and February.
In the weeks between March 14 and April 4, Nevada had its highest number of initial weekly unemployment insurance claims on record. Gov. Steve Sisolak acknowledged Tuesday that the state jobless office wasn’t designed to handle the unprecedented wave of idled workers trying to file for benefits by telephone and online.
Sisolak’s office and the state unemployment officials did not immediately respond Thursday to phone and email messages seeking comment about the federal figures. The Labor Department said 5.2 million more people nationally filed for unemployment in the week ending April 11.
Nevada jobless officials said they have more than doubled staffers from from 70 to more than 200 and hired an an outside firm to add 100 full-time operators beginning this this week. The governor said benefits can be backdated to the earliest date of eligibility, March 15.
Most people with the virus experience symptoms such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems can face severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
