The unemployment rate in Las Vegas is the highest in any metropolitan area in the nation. 14.8 % baby.
I was in the neighborhood of my previous roommate's business yesterday, and I decided to stop in to stay hello. He's a few months shy of hosting a 400-guest wedding, so I expected him to be frazzled. Instead of jumping first to tell me about the $900 he spent on party favors, he told me he'd had to fire five employees last week for stealing out of the register. He works in the steak-peddling business as the general manager of the local office of a popular national chain. He'd caught them on camera pocketing the change of customers paying in cash. They'd been hired recently as seasonal employees.
"Oh, great," I told him. "I need a new job!"
But he'd already been able to replace all of them this week. He's a great manager and can tell within a few minutes of meeting a potential hiree whether they're a good fit. After a short interview, he tells you if you're hired.
Many people applied to fill the empty positions. No one in Vegas is currently hiring. On Monday, he hired a woman in her 50s who had applied everywhere to no avail. He told her she got the job. A job that pays less than $10 an hour. It requires heavy lifting and touching raw meat. It's only seasonal, through January. She cried happy tears. She jumped up and down and danced.
I'd like to bet, Vegas-style, that those people who stole out of the register really needed the money.
I suppose people could always hand out ads for "gentlemen's clubs" or private "dancers" on the strip. Vegas certainly seems to need a lot of those.
ReplyDeleteThey actually are always hiring for that job. There seems to be a large turnover.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you get paid extra to be the guy who has to walk around with the billboard backpack. Always seems to be one in every crew. Also, do you get paid extra if you can snap the cards really good? They seem to be quite fond of doing that. I suppose every job has associated skills.
ReplyDelete