Las Vegas is sliding into a recession….

Posted on February 15, 2008
Filed Under Gaming, Job Growth |

….. or is it just a slowdown?

Normally, I only like to discuss positive things in this blog. However, we need to be real with each other: Las Vegas is slowing down. At least for now. Recent reports show that Las Vegas casinos are laying off some folks as well as cutting hours.

According to John Smith from the Las Vegas Review Journal, this is in both local and strip casinos….”The local casino racket is buzzing with talk of layoffs from the neighborhood joints to venerable Strip properties despite recently published reports that Las Vegas resorts enjoyed a banner year at the bottom line.”

It is not as if Las Vegas has never felt a slow down before. I recall the months following September 11th, when the casinos collectively laid off around 18,000 employees. Following that were an additional 20,000 layoffs in industries supporting the gaming industry.

But, as always, we rebound. And then growth continues.

When I first moved to Las Vegas and heard the all too common saying “Las Vegas is the last to feel the recession and the first to come out of it,” I did not believe too much in it. But let me tell you - I have been here 15 years now and have experienced a few slow downs. They never last long. As I call my friends and colleagues throughout the country - they are often belly-aching about slowdowns months before there is even a hint of one in our booming economy. And many times, it is never felt here in the promised land.

So, all we can do is ‘drive through it.’ Put your head down and continue doing what you are doing. Recovery will not be far behind. Especially with over 120,000 jobs being created in Las Vegas over the next five years.

As I stated in a previous post, this is just “The Calm Before the Storm.”

Perfect Storm

Comments

One Response to “Las Vegas is sliding into a recession….”

An Employer’s Market : Recruiting Nevada on February 20th, 2008 8:05 am

[…] My post (Las Vegas is sliding into a recession) last week about it being an “Employer’s Market” drew some comments. Most were actually questions about ‘what is an employer’s market?’ […]

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