According to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation (DETR), 32% of those souls employed in Clark County work in the leisure and hospitality industries, followed by 19% in "trade, transportation and utilities." With between 30,000 and 40,000 employees, the Clark County School District is the largest single employer in the county. DETR figures show Wynn Resorts to be the biggest casino employer, its workforce hovering between 8,000 and 8,500. (Twelve of the top 20 employers are Strip casino resorts.) And where casinos don’t make the list, education, government, law enforcement and health care fill in the gaps.
Steve Brown, of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas’ Center for Business & Economic Research pegged his own UNLV (5,000-5,500, including 2,200 faculty) and NV Energy (1,400 strong) as other major players in the region. However, the second-largest private, non-casino employer is Southwest Airlines, averaging between 2,500-3,000 Las Vegans among its workforce.
As for the Strip, Leanndra Copeland, an economist with DETR’s Research & Analysis Bureau writes, "Is it okay to define the [Strip] zip code as 89109? If so, there are about 150,000 jobs in that zip code. Most of those jobs are in accommodation and food services (about 115,000). The industry with the next-highest employment is retail trade with about 14,000 jobs on the Strip, as defined [for this specific purpose] with the 89109 zip code"
