High-paying restaurant jobs on Las Vegas Strip can't find qualified workers, expert says
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LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -- While the worker shortage is often attributed to low wages, a hospitality expert says the issue is so widespread that it's affecting recruitment for high-paying positions.
Mark Steele, founder of the Restaurant Hospitality Institute, said restaurants in casinos like The Mirage, Wynn and Caesars Palace have had recruiters get in touch with him, saying they're actively seeking staff. Some of the open positions, he said, pay six figures and offer benefits.
"There's restaurants and casinos that, people who would have given an arm and a leg to work for two years ago, now are begging for employees," said Steele. "These were all, some are union jobs, or very good, high-paying jobs, that you know, you had to know someone to even get an interview or to put an application in, where you never know if someone's even gonna see. And now these places are actively out and giving bonuses to get people on board, so it's unlike anything I've even seen before."
Steele said he believes it's partly because during the shutdowns, older restaurant employees, ones with decades of experience, may have decided to retire if they were close already.
He said that the opening of Resorts World and Circa likely played a part, too, arguing that they absorbed much of the local workforce.
