A new study by My Perfect Resume finds that Nevada is among the least productive states in the country. Between 2007 and 2024, Nevada’s productivity—measured as average output per hour worked—increased by only 13 percent. Only Connecticut (8 percent) and Louisiana (5 percent) saw slower productivity growth.
The study used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing each state’s GDP to the total number of hours worked. States where economic output grew faster than hours worked saw greater productivity gains.
Washington led the nation in productivity growth at 66 percent, followed by North Dakota (61 percent) and California (51 percent).
Analysts attribute Nevada’s low ranking to its economic structure. The state relies heavily on leisure, hospitality, and tourism—industries that are labor-intensive but not output-intensive, meaning they depend more on people than on technology or capital investment. Nevada was also severely impacted by the 2008 Great Recession, which hit its tourism, gaming, and construction sectors especially hard. Recovery in higher-productivity sectors like technology and manufacturing has been slow.
As jobs returned post-recession and during the pandemic recovery, much of Nevada’s employment growth was in the service sector rather than in areas that boost efficiency or output per hour. This meant that while the number of workers increased, productivity gains lagged behind states with more technology-driven economies.
