Fifty-nine percent of them had been rehired by their employer by the end of 2020, the report shows, though a third were laid off again and, Liebert writes, “it is still unclear whether they have been recalled or not.” Moreover, nearly one-third of Native American/Indigenous workers – many of them casino employees – were likely to be out of work late last year. That’s particularly concerning for casinos as many of them have been top employers in the regions where they are located, he said.Īccording to a report by Alessia Leibert, a research project manager for DEED, one-fourth of the workers in Minnesota who were eligible for unemployment insurance applied for that benefit during the year after businesses began shutting down.
Unemployment insurance is also buying people some time to shop for jobs.” “Maybe they can work for the manufacturer across the street. “They laid those people off, and now when they want to rehire them, (those workers) have options they maybe hadn’t thought about before,” he said.
Hospitality workers were laid off in some of the highest numbers during the pandemic, but getting them back is proving to be difficult for employers – even during the peak summer season, said Luke Greiner, an economic analyst for the state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) who has been studying central Minnesota’s economy as it recovers from the pandemic. Hayes, through a spokeswoman, declined to elaborate on the casino’s strategies for recruiting workers.
We are solidifying new recruitment plans now and as consumer confidence continues to grow, and vaccines are on the rise, we look forward to welcoming new Associates at both our locations.” She added: “The casino industry is not immune to the staffing challenges that most industries are facing. In her statement, Hayes said Grand Casino is “ramping up our recruitment and hiring efforts – that has definitely been the most challenging.” “Our goal is to reopen other amenities as demand continues to increase.” “While our gaming floor is open, along with select restaurants at each casino, other amenities are not open yet,” she said. Kim Hayes, vice president of talent for Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, said in a prepared statement that the company has been “really encouraged by our Guests and Associate’s response to our safety efforts,” but that some of its operations were not fully open. Grand Casino, run by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, closed March 16, 2020, re-opening its gaming floor during the summer after incorporating some health-safety measures, such as enhanced cleaning. The hospitality industry was hit particularly hard during the pandemic, state economic analysts report, including the tribal-run casinos and their related hotels and other businesses that are often anchor employers in their communities. More than a year later, those casinos continue to work toward reopening all of their offerings – but not without challenges. In March of 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began shuttering businesses, Grand Casino closed its locations in Hinckley and Mille Lacs for several months.