Dr. Rummy Pandit of Stockton University said, “Those recently unemployed could be readjusting lifestyles and assessing future career decisions.”
The job market in Atlantic City has lost over 10,000 jobs in the past 3 years, but casinos still are having trouble filling some positions. At present, the 8 operating casinos are looking to fill a combined 518 positions, according to Matthew Levinson, the Chairman and CEO of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
Job descriptions for those positions range from food and beverage managers to live dealers for iGaming operations. Jobs as dealers are available, but the AC casinos are having trouble finding qualified workers.
Over 10,000 Jobs Lost in 3 Years
The reason is many of the workers who lost their jobs in 2014 — when four casinos closed and 8000 jobs were lost — have moved out of state. Even with the closing of the Trump Taj Mahal in October 2016, many of the 3000 workers who lost jobs have left the area.
Rummy Pandit of Stockton University’s Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality, and Tourism said other casinos in the region have been targeting the Atlantic City gaming market to hire out-of-work employees. For instance, when the MGM National Harbor opened in December 2016, it hired many dealers from Atlantic City. MGM Resorts also owns Atlantic City’s Borgata, so interviews and hirings were easy to perform.
MGM National Harbor Jobs Fair
MGM National Harbor was only one of several out-of-state casinos which had job fairs in Atlantic City in summer 2016. In nearby New York State, the Rivers Casino opened in early February. While the casino was designed to help the jobs market in the Albana-Schenectady area, the Rivers Casino also needed some experienced workers, so they likely hired out-of-work Atlantic City casino staff members.
Rummy Pandit said, “Those recently unemployed could be readjusting lifestyles and assessing future career decisions. There could be a mismatch between available positions and the type of position the labor force is looking for. For example, employers may need part-time or on-call employees, while potential employees may be looking for full-time employment or vice versa.”
518 Full-Time Jobs Available
Meanwhile, local casinos are hiring right now, too. Matthew Levinson of the Casino Control Commission discussed the 518 full-time jobs available at the moment. Levinson said, “The number of full-time job openings now is up from 2015, when there were about 350 full-time openings. There are jobs in Atlantic City, and I know there are people in this community who need jobs. I urge anyone who needs a job to go onto a casino’s website and check out the job opportunities that may be available.”
Caesars Entertainment in particular is hiring for the various Caesars casinos in Atlantic City. Caesars owns Bally’s Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort, and Caesars Atlantic City.
Noel Stevenson on Caesars Casino Jobs
Noel Stevenson, a spokesman for Caesars, said that some of the new jobs are in the food service industry at Harrah’s Casino. The Caesars property has three new restaurants opening in the next several months. Two properties opened last week: AC Burger Company and Veracruz, a Mexican and Spanish restaurant. A third restaurant, Coastal Craft, is set to open in March 2017.
When Atlantic City was at the height of its revenue-generating potential in 2006, the city’s casino industry sustained 50,000 jobs. At the time, Atlantic City casino revenues were a combined $5.4 billion.
Now, the revenue is closer to $2 billion. The casino industry now employs 21,800 people at a time, with about 16,000 of those workers in full-time jobs.
Effect on Atlantic City’s Economy
The loss of nearly 30,000 casino jobs in Atlantic City has been an unmitigated disaster for the city’s finances. Not only has the city lost in sales taxes and residential property taxes, but it also lost over half of its property taxes from the casino industry.
As the city’s finances have collapsed, so have it credit rating. Without the ability to borrow from banks or bond issues, the city had to rely on the state of New Jersey to float loans, due to a budget shortfall of $70 million a year. That led to Gov. Chris Christie imposing a state-appointed financial overseer for the city. The state plans to run the city’s finances for the next 5 years.
