CityCenter hotel begins search for 500 workers

Offers of employment will be given in September, with employees beginning work in October to prepare for Mandarin Oriental's December opening.

Candidates must visit Mandarin Oriental's career Web site to apply. Qualified candidates will be invited for an application review with human resources, followed by a formal departmental interview and a final review with the Mandarin Oriental general manager.

MGM Mirage announced in December 2008 that it was seeking more than 12,000 workers to fill positions at CityCenter and other company-owned properties. The 500-plus Mandarin Oriental positions are part of those 12,000 openings.

In January, CityCenter recruiters said they expected 100,000 applications for the 12,000-plus jobs. The resort has since received more than 145,000 applications and conducted between 42,000 and 43,000 interviews.

CityCenter most recently held a job fair Thursday to hire hundreds for its food and beverage department. Recent employment announcements from properties like CityCenter and Hard Rock have given hope to Nevada's unemployed. Hard Rock held a job fair last month to hire 800 workers for its us$ 750 million expansion.

Nevada's unemployment rate rose to 12.3 % in July, compared to 11.3 % in June.