Nevada's unemployment rate for April was 30.1%, the highest on record for any state. May's unemployment rate in Nevada was 25.3%.
The announcement was made during a weekly Zoom meeting call on Friday with the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.
The Labor Department says Hawaii came in second at 22.6%, and Michigan at 21.2%. The rates in Delaware (15.8%), Florida (14.5%), Massachusetts (16.3%), and Minnesota (9.9%) set new series highs. (All state series begin in 1976.) Nebraska had the lowest unemployment rate, 5.2%.
Finalized data from DETR show initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) totaled 10,620 for the week ending June 13, down 128 claims, or 1.2%, compared to last week’s total of 10,748. This is the seventh consecutive week of declines in regular initial claims. Through the week ending June 13, there have been 528,545 initial claims filed in 2020, 506,893 of which have come in the last fourteen weeks.
Officials say many of Nevada's claims that have been filed have been identified as potentially fraudulent. These claims take up more of the department's time and prevents other claims from being processed. DETR has implemented various measures to freeze payments and investigate known and suspected fraud.
"Nevada is coordinating with other states along with the attorney generals office, the FBI and the secret service to stop fraudulent claims prior to payment," says DETR Director Heather Korbulic.
DETR asks anyone who has been a victim of fraud or identity theft to report it on the department's website.
As of Friday morning, there have been 147,460 initial claims for the PUA program for independent workers and DETR has paid 78,734 of the claimants.
(DETR contributed to this report.)
