We answered the general part of this question -- how to get a job in Las Vegas when you don't live in Las Vegas -- in our QoD of 1/18/06. Basically, companies don't hire employees (especially unskilled ones) who live out of town. We wrote, "Countless job seekers submit applications to Las Vegas companies from around the country and the world and it's our understanding that these apps are routinely tossed into the circular file. Las Vegas human-resources departments are looking for already-established Las Vegas residents to staff their workforces; there are too many uncertainties in hiring people who have yet to make the actual move to southern Nevada."
Our conclusion was, and still is, that you must have a local address and phone number. It's as simple as that. Get a local mail drop, and a cell-phone number with a 702 area code or a phone-forwarding service before you bother to apply for a job in Las Vegas.
In terms of the specific question about construction laboring, a recent survey found that Las Vegas construction workers across the board earn 107% the national average in wages. So if you make $20,000 in Minnesota, you'll take in $21,400 for the same work in southern Nevada. You have to account, of course, for the differential in the cost of living in Minnesota, as compared to Las Vegas. According to the salary comparison at www.homefair.com/calc/salcalc.html, your money goes 21.2% farther in Las Vegas than it does in Minneapolis. (Be sure to do a cost-of-living comparison on other online calculators.) So you're not only making more money in Las Vegas, your money also goes farther in Las Vegas.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (November 2004 estimates), construction helpers earn the following per hour in Nevada: masonry $12.32-$13.11; carpentry $11.50-$11.80; electric $12.48-$14.26; plumbing $11.72-$11.90; roofing $10; and general $8.82-$10.14. These figures have no doubt gone up a few points in the past 18 months, given that construction workers of all kinds are in short supply and long demand in Las Vegas.
On the other hand, these are official statistics. Construction laborers, like housekeepers, porters, and dishwashers, are in the class of employee that competes with undocumented workers. Recent estimates we've seen indicate that upwards of 10% of such jobs in southern Nevada are occupied by illegal immigrants. So laborer jobs could be harder to get and wages could be lower in reality.
There's only one way to find out, of course, and that's to come here and look around. There's no substitute for getting out and doing the legwork in person. Good luck.
