MGM Resorts Looking to Hire Thousands at Las Vegas Casinos, But Workers Scarce

Posted on: August 3, 2021, 12:42h. 

Last updated on: August 3, 2021, 01:43h.

Larry Henry Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

MGM Resorts International is seeking employees for 3,000 job openings at casinos in the Las Vegas Valley. In some instances, the company is offering work to job applicants on the spot.

On Monday, MGM Resorts launched a job fair that lasts through Thursday. The event is taking place at One-Stop Career Center at 6330 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 190, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. No appointment is necessary. Hiring managers are available for in-person interviews that can lead to instant job offers in some cases.

Brandon Perry, director of MGM Resort’s human resources initiatives, told the newspaper the company needs employees for all sorts of jobs. “There are needs across the board,” he said.

The company especially needs security officers and food and beverage workers, including baristas, cooks, and servers, Perry said. 

MGM Resorts owns many of the hotel-casinos on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip, including the Excalibur, Park MGM, and Mirage.

Pandemic Reshapes Job Expectations

As job seekers weigh their options in the pandemic work world, employers throughout the Las Vegas area are experiencing many of the same hiring issues as MGM Resorts.

People are hesitant to come back and be around large groups of people,” Perry told the newspaper. “The most challenging part is that all the employers in Las Vegas are in the same situation. Who’s getting to those candidates first, right?”

Joe Sharpe, project director for One-Stop Career Center, told the newspaper that applicants are being selective about job choices these days. Some potential employees want to work from home and want jobs that provide day care services, he said.

“The pandemic has changed people’s perspectives on jobs quite a bit,” Sharpe said.

Nation-Leading Jobless Rate

This search for workers in Southern Nevada comes as the Las Vegas metropolitan area has the highest jobless rate in the nation among large metropolitan areas. These are the 51 US metro areas with a population of 1 million or more.

In June, the Las Vegas metro area had an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, just ahead of Los Angeles, where the jobless rate was 9.5 percent. The national unemployment rate in June was 6.1 percent, down from 11.2 percent in June 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic.

As the late summer effort to hire workers continues this year, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation is set to end in Nevada on Sept. 4, the newspaper reported. Under this plan, recipients receive $300 each week. 

While the June jobless rate in Las Vegas is above the national average, it is below the nation-leading 34.2 percent in the city last year during the height of the pandemic. 

Encore executive Jacqui Krum said the resort remains “in continual hiring mode,” according to USA Today.

“We simply cannot find enough dealers, cashiers or food servers,” she said.