The Amazon customer fulfillment facility in North Las Vegas is shown Dec. 6, 2018. Amazon, which has several fulfillment centers in Nevada, has continued to hire warehouse workers during the pandemic.
Friday, May 15, 2020 | 2 a.m.
The coronavirus pandemic has wiped out more than 400,000 jobs in Nevada, but Las Vegas-based financial tech company Prime Trust is still hiring, CEO Scott Purcell said.
“Heading into this, I didn’t know if I’d be laying people off,” Purcell said. “It just so happens that we’ve continued to grow, kind of surprisingly, actually.”
The firm, which has several dozen employees, could grow to 100 or more by the end of the year, Purcell said.
“We’re hiring in customer service, management, just across-the-board growth right now,” said Purcell, whose company works to protect client cash and noncash assets.
Despite record-setting unemployment in Nevada, there are still pockets of opportunity for job seekers.
Essential businesses like grocery stores and some big box retailers such as Walmart and Target have been hiring. Warehouse, security and call center jobs are also available.
“For those looking for new employment, we do still have employers who are hiring," said Joe Sharpe, a project director for Nevada’s federally funded One-Stop Career Center.
“We have our grocery stores, and Amazon has continued to hire extensively for warehouse workers during this period,” Sharpe said. “Some retail stores like a CVS are still hiring, too.”
But those employers clearly cannot make up the massive job losses. The state unemployment rate went from an all-time low of 3.6% in February to a record 22% in the first week of May.
Nevada’s economy was put into a virtual state of suspended animation in mid-March when Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered casinos and other nonessential businesses statewide closed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The state allowed some businesses — dine-in restaurants, retail stores and hair salons — to start reopening May 9 with strict social distancing conditions.
But Nevada’s economic engine and biggest employer, the gaming industry, remains locked down. And when it eventually reopens, it will be at only a fraction of its prepandemic volume.
MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment plan to initially reopen only a handful of their combined 19 Strip resorts.
That means tens of thousands of dealers and restaurant and hotel workers will remain sidelined. MGM has warned that some of its 50,000 employees here may not be recalled, at least not anytime soon.
“If you’re receiving unemployment, I think you’re hopeful and waiting to see what happens with your employer,” Sharpe said.
For those who need work now, however, places like Whole Foods Market, Sam’s Club and Costco are still looking for people, he said.
Smith’s has hired nearly 1,600 workers in Nevada since March 10 and still had 116 unfilled positions as of Thursday, said Aubriana Martindale, a spokeswoman for the grocery chain.
A company called G4S recently announced it would hire for 300 security guard and site supervisor positions. As of last week, it had already extended offers to about 150 people.
Alorica, a call center firm that does a lot of work in the health care space, is looking to fill about 375 full-time jobs in the valley by September.
“We’re looking for individuals who understand customer service and have a focus on empathy and helping people,” said Linda Chando, a director at one of the California-based company’s two Las Vegas sites.
Chando said close to 30% of the people her company has hired or is interviewing in Las Vegas are from non-call center backgrounds.
“Some people are exploring this opportunity as a way to make a career change, potentially a long-term change,” Chando said. “That’s exciting for us because it’s always tough to compete against the glitz and glamour of Vegas.”
