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ATLANTIC CITY — The “Help Wanted” sign is finally back at the casinos.

The gaming industry went on a hiring binge in May, adding more than 600 jobs to prepare for the normally busy summer tourism season.

May’s hiring surge broke nine straight months of job cuts in Atlantic City’s dominant industry. Casinos had been cutting their work force in response to sharp drops in revenue caused by the recession and intense competition from Pennsylvania’s slot parlors.

Figures released Thursday by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission show that the industry added 607 jobs in May compared to April. But casino employment remains significantly lower compared with the same time last year. Overall, 3,600 jobs have been lost in the past 12 months. There are currently 37,841 casino employees, a level not seen since the late 1980s and far off the peak of 51,560 workers in July 1997.

Employment typically increases in May and June as casinos gear up for a jump in tourism starting with the Memorial Day weekend. Seasonal job cuts usually follow in September coinciding with the traditional post-Labor Day slowdown.

One casino executive said May’s employment figures suggest the worst may finally be over for the job market. However, he cautioned it is premature to believe the casinos have begun to rebound from the recession.

“I think in one respect it does signal somewhat of a bottom,” said Mark Juliano, chief executive officer of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. “At a certain point in time, because of the fixed costs of your buildings, you can’t cut much further. But I wouldn’t say that the industry is in a recovery.”

Casino revenue has plummeted 15.7 percent through the first four months of this year. Revenue figures for May are scheduled to be released Wednesday by the Casino Control Commission. Although employment rose in May, industry officials say revenue is expected to be down for the month.

Eight of the 11 casinos added jobs in May. Bally’s Atlantic City, Showboat Casino Hotel and Tropicana Casino and Resort made only slight cuts, figures show.

Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, and Trump Marina Hotel Casino, now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy as they try to restructure their finances, all boosted their work force in May. The Taj Mahal added 133 jobs — more than any other casino in town — mainly to staff a new 40-story hotel tower that opened late last year, Juliano said.

E-mail Donald Wittkowski:

DWittkowski@pressofac.com

6 comments:

• zebra2 (109) posts 4:27 pm

  Thank you Barrack

• UncleFrank (232) posts 12:27 pm

  Hey buddy, got a light?

• Reality (35) posts 12:13 pm

  Atlantic City needs to ban these drug addicted smokers once and for all. This will improve the win percentage. The quality of the casino customer will improve once you rid the casino floor of these cigarette junkies. These druggies are the bottom dwellers of society, banned from nearly every business in this state but the casino floor. These junkies are not wanted anywhere in this state. They are a menace to society. Who wants to be next to one of these lowlifes at a table game or a slot machine? These people are ignorant, and stink. Their breath, clothes, and hair wreak of tobacco. The casino will have happier, healthier customers and workers once these druggies are banned. These drug addicts will still come to gamble, they are animals, and animals adapt to their surroundings. It's time for these drug addicts to go where they belong, to smoke with their other fellow druggies. You junkies think you are being treated like second-class citizens? Wrong, you addicts have NO class, so being treated like second-class is a step up for you losers! This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home. Do us a favor piggies- stay home!

• layoffvictim08 (18) posts 11:29 am

  Yes, the layoffs and cuts in benefits have subsided. It's just the eye of a hurricane. A temporary reprieve from the pain and suffering. A false sense of recovery. A headfake. A blanket being thrown over to cover the bad Balance Sheets. The second half of the storm is yet to come. Enjoy the summer while you can!

• Nikynewark (117) posts 10:41 am

  All these "happy face" stories are cute but the reality is the national unemployment rate went to 9.4% the highest in 25 years. I would be more interested in how many people are getting full hours versus part timers. Having gone to the opening of the Sands Bethlehem I will bet as it expands it will take a big bite out of the AC business. It's closer to the 16 million of the NY/north Jersey population and doesn't have the skanks, pervs, bums, hookers, druggies and drunks AC is famous for.

• Jamesy (80) posts 7:23 am

  They laid off all the higher salaried and hourly seniority to the tune of 4k...now they bring in low paying summer help at the tune of 600 only to lay them off this September...the drought is not over by any means.

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