'Once people feel that public health is good, then I think full consumer, business and public confidence continues to come back,' Sarno said.Įven with far fewer employees, MGM Springfield's gambling revenues have generally returned to pre-pandemic levels, with the casino in March posting its third-highest haul since opening.

Mayor Domenic Sarno said he’s heard from other large employers trying various strategies to attract workers, including offering hiring bonuses.Īs for Springfield’s relationship with MGM, he said it’s been “beneficial,” but COVID-19 has thrown a “curve ball” at everyone. While the labor market has tightened significantly in the past year as the economy recovered from the pandemic, Springfield's unemployment rate of about 6% remains above state and national averages. 'Unfortunately, business owners across the city are struggling to get people to work, so why would we think MGM would be special in this regard?' 'I wish that it was just MGM's numbers that were down,' Edwards said.

Springfield City Councilor Melvin Edwards, who chairs the council's planning and economic development committee, said a tight labor market has made it difficult for MGM Springfield - and other businesses in the city - to attract workers. With the hotel closed and diminished amenities available, the casino reported about 900 workers for the second half of 2020, before a gradual increase throughout 2021 and into 2022. MGM Springfield shut down with the state’s other casinos for several months in 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the workforce soon leveled off at around 2,000. The casino company had originally promised regulators it would employ 3,000, and was close to that when it opened in 2018. MGM has just 35 more full-time workers on staff than a year ago. The rise during the last year was fueled by the hiring of more part-time and on-call employees. MGM Springfield reported 1,203 employees, 230 more than the first quarter of 2021 - a 23% increase. In a meeting Wednesday, casino officials updated the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on the employment situation during its required report for the first quarter of 2022. The number of employees at the MGM Springfield casino has increased over the last year, but remains far below pre-pandemic levels.

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