Sacked Atlantic City Casino Workers To Get Federal Assistance

Much has been said about the state of the gambling industry in New Jersey and how revenues have fallen considerably in 2014.

Both the online gambling industry and brick & mortar casinos have faced a significant decline in revenue, which has resulted in the closure of 4 Atlantic City casinos and 2 online gambling companies shutting down operations in New Jersey.

One of the areas that did not receive a lot of publicity was the loss of jobs that resulted with the closure of these 4 Atlantic City Casinos. The Labor department has confirmed that over 6,500 individuals have been laid off and now have no means of income. Due to the slump in New Jersey’s gambling industry, these workers will not be able to use their casino work experience and find another job in the industry as no New Jersey casinos are hiring right now.

These sacked casino workers will have to move out of state and look for employment or will have to train themselves and acquire another skill-set to enable them to find another source of employment. The labor department recently confirmed that it will release a national emergency grant for $30 million to Atlantic City so that these sacked casino workers can receive the assistance they need.

The labor department will release $13 million immediately and make available an additional $29 million if required. The money will be used to finance employer driven learning programs that will equip sacked casino workers with a new skill-set. All casino workers who lost their jobs will be eligible to sign up for these training programs and equip themselves with a new skill-set.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J said

This National Emergency Grant is focused on the workers and will be utilized to increase occupational skills and to get those impacted by the casino closing back to work

Booker believes that this grant will go a long way in helping these displaced employees and will be useful in helping Atlantic City rebuild its failing gambling industry.

The national emergency grant has been awarded to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The grant will be managed by the Cumberland Salem Workforce Investment Board and the Atlantic Cape May Workforce Investment Board and will primarily focus on training and helping sacked casino workers to find new employment.