The full extent of Atlantic City's economic turmoil
showed up in October's metropolitan-area employment report released Tuesday by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Atlantic County, which is home to Atlantic City, lost
9,900 jobs in the 12 months ended October 31, as four of the city's dozen
casinos closed. A fifth, the Trump Taj Mahal, could close Dec. 20.
The next-biggest job loss nationally - 2,200 - was
recorded in Davenport, Iowa, and two nearby cities across the Mississippi River
in Illinois.
Atlantic County was also tops in percentage terms, losing
7.3 percent of its jobs in during that period.
The nearby Ocean City region, which is half the size of
Atlantic County in terms of its labor force, ranked second, with a 3.4 percent
loss of jobs. That loss amounted to 1,400 jobs in absolute terms.
The jobs report, which is based on numbers that are not
seasonally adjusted, arrives as New Jersey lawmakers wrestle with numerous
economic rescue packages for Atlantic City.
Among the proposals is the restructuring of casino
property taxes that would allow them to pay a flat amount of $150 million for
the next two years.
That amount, which could change up or down over time,
depending on the trajectory of the gambling industry, would be split among the
casinos according to a formula that includes acreage, the number of hotel
rooms, and gross gaming revenue.
Other proposals would, for 15 years, apply certain
existing casino levies to Atlantic City bond payments.
Casino property-tax appeals have led the city to issue
$345 million in bonds since 2010 to pay refunds. The appeals came in response
to a 2008 revaluation that more than doubled the taxable value of real estate
in the city to $20.5 billion.
Most of the increase came from casinos - just as they
started suffering heavy losses of customers to Pennsylvania competitors.
Source: Philly.com
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