Rebecca Haney, who in 2006 was laid off from her job in Dallas, drove in a month ago after two relatives in Elko told her about all the jobs. "I didn't even know where it was," she said. "I had to Google it." At the Elko office of JobConnect, a state employment agency, officials report that 1,500 people a month are seeking help finding work, up 50% from a year ago.
Elko's attraction is simple: Gold mines in this mountainous area of northeastern Nevada are thriving and in some cases adding workers amid stratospheric prices for the commodity. Barrick Gold Corp. has added 250 people to its Nevada operations over the past year, and expects to add an additional 300 jobs to its work force of 3,500 over the next several months, said Greg Lang, president of the Toronto company's North American region.
The mining companies are keeping the construction industry humming, in contrast to a near-shutdown of construction elsewhere in the state. Barrick and Newmont Mining Corp., which dominate the local mining industry, have built new office buildings in Elko with about 50,000 square feet each.
My wife used to work for a gold mining company and people were always going down to Elko. To me it always epitomized the middle of nowhere, so I was amused that it was featured in the Wall Street Journal. Look out Vegas!
I work for one of the mines in Elko. It really is like we're in this bubble surrounded by unemployment and financial problems in the rest of the state. Part of me thinks it won't last. Of course, if the price of gold tanks again (like it did years ago) then Elko will become a ghost town again.
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