Las Vegas's Employment Roller Coaster

With a 5 percent unemployment rate, Las Vegas, Nevada is fairing slightly worse than the rest of the nation. In September, the US average showed that 4.7 percent of individuals couldn't find work, which was up .1 percent from the previous month. With statistics like this, the news that a local call center is closing does not bode well for those looking for Las Vegas jobs.   

The Connection, a Minnesota based company, recently announced that it would  be closing its doors after seven years in business. This will leave approximately 57 individuals without a Las Vegas job.  According to the company's president, Fred Wiener, the hiring pool in the area is too small to support the two call centers that existed in the area. The Connection handled inbound calls for several different companies, but will be closed by late November. With call centers offering entry-level job opportunities, the fact that the company is pulling out of the area may decrease the number of these positions in the area.

Although there will soon be less entry level Las Vegas jobs, predictions show that there will soon be an increase in hiring in the financial and accounting sector. A survey conducted by Robert Half International found that they Las Vegas job outlook in this area for the fourth quarter showed that employers are optimistic. The results showed that 12 percent of chief financial officers (CFO's) in the area planned to add to their already existing staff in the fourth quarter of 2007. On the other hand, 7 percent of those polled said that they expected a reduction in the number of Las Vegas jobs they provide.

This still leaves a net 5 percent of CFO's who plan to be hiring in the year's last quarter, which is a two point gain from the previous quarter. Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International said that “[t]he most experienced candidates are receiving multiple employment offers, and more organizations are extending counteroffers to retain top performers.”

To reach these results, Robert Half polled 200 different CFO's in the area. All of the companies that participated in the survey employ at least 20 individuals in the Las Vegas area.