Las Vegas is No. 1 destination for movers

By Steve Green

"CityCenter to hire 12,000 employees."

"Metro Police to hire 400 officers."

With headlines like those, why wouldn’t people move from other states to find work in Las Vegas?

In fact, it appears they are, according to a report issued today by Relocation.com, a New York company that helps people move locally or from state to state; either on their own or by hiring companies that can pack their goods, move their goods, or both.

"Despite the housing market struggles and a downturn in gaming revenue, Las Vegas still beckons to people looking for a fresh start, according to an analysis of moving requests from 2008 by Relocation.com," the company said Wednesday. "The data revealed that on a per-capita basis for cities with more than 1 million people, Las Vegas retained its spot as the No. 1 destination for people looking to make a long distance state-to-state move."

The company said that of the moving requests involving Las Vegas it handled in 2008, 52 percent were looking to move to Las Vegas, while 48 percent were requests to leave Las Vegas.

Today’s numbers do reflect the weakening in the Las Vegas economy.

Relocation.com said that in 2007, 56 percent of the requests involving Las Vegas were from people looking to move to Las Vegas, while 44 percent were moves out of Las Vegas.

The relocation company said that although the recession has spared no area of the country, cities in the West and South continue to appeal to people relocating, whether to take a job or to find a new place to live with more solid economic opportunities. Las Vegas was followed in popularity by Denver; Charlotte, N.C.; the Phoenix area; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Orlando, Fla.; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta and the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Fla., area.

The Relocation.com numbers differ from those of U-Haul. The Las Vegas Sun reported that U-Haul found that in 2007, outbound U-Haul rentals barely outpaced those arriving in Las Vegas. In 2008, the number of outbound rentals was 1 percent higher than rentals arriving in Las Vegas, the Sun reported.

It’s unclear which set of numbers best reflects the state of the Las Vegas economy.

One thing’s likely: With 100,000 people expected to apply for the 12,000 CityCenter jobs, there will be plenty of U-Hauls leaving town as the unsuccessful applicants learn the bad news.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jan/14/report-people-still-moving-las-vegas/