Relatively speaking, area wages are low. Across-the-board low.
The Springfield metropolitan statistical area lags behind the national mean when it comes to wages in all 22 major occupational groups monitored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to the most recent wage report for the area from the BLS, the Springfield MSA mean hourly wage across all categories in May 2012 was $17.29 per hour, 21 percent below the U.S. wage mean of $22.01.
Some occupational groups, according to the July 17 report, faired better than others in terms of compensation. Nationally, computer and mathematical workers comprise 2.7 percent of the workforce, while they only make up 1.7 percent locally, offering some explanation to a mean take home pay 35 percent less than peers across the U.S. Such technology workers in the Springfield MSA make $25.03 per hour compared to $38.55.
Under the arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupational category, which comprises 1.2 percent of local employment and roughly the same nationally, the wage contrast also is stark. Locally, employees of this group make $17.15 per hour, 35 percent below the U.S. mean pay of $26.20.
Of the 22 employment groups, those working in the transportation and material moving category in the Springfield MSA have the most comparable wages: $15.16 per hour compared to workers across the U.S. earning $16.15.
Jason Crowe, director of human resources for O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY), said the Springfield-based national automotive parts supplier utilizes compensation surveys across the country to make sure its wages and benefits are competitive.
“We work hard to ensure that we remain an employer of choice,” Crowe said. “We do feel we offer competitive compensation.”
He said the company, which has nearly 60,000 workers across its 4,100 retail locations, 24 distribution centers and national headquarters in Springfield, hires at a clip of around 1,000 per week.
Chris Pridgen, O’Reilly’s talent acquisition manager, said the company reaches out to potential hires in several ways, including traditional routes such as job boards and career fairs, using recruiting materials, as well as nontraditional methods such as social media.
Crowe, who declined to discuss wages at O’Reilly citing company policy, said the business markets itself through partnerships with national and local organizations such as Deca, AARP, military veterans, technical schools and universities.
“We offer part-time flexible hours and competitive pay to many retail, distribution and corporate team members as a way to attract great talent,” Crowe said.
Cost factorsIn the Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Dallas and Polk counties – the largest occupational category is the sales industry, making up 11.6 percent of the workforce. The mean hourly wage in the broad sales category was $14.20, a level 22 percent below the national mean.
According to the BLS wage report, top paying occupations in the area include family and general health practitioners, $97.55 per hour; physicians and surgeons, $103.12; and dentists, $76.18. The Springfield MSA had 14,460 health care jobs in May 2012, accounting for 7.8 percent of the workforce – well above the 5.9 percent average – but the local mean hourly wage of $28.43 trails by 20 percent.
Following Midwestern trends, the Springfield area’s lower wages are typically balanced by lower costs of living.
According to the most recent Springfield-Greene County Community Focus Report in 2011, the area’s cost of living is 12 percent below the national average, and housing and utilities cost 23 percent and 17 percent, respectively, below U.S. averages.
Springfield currently has a cost-of-living index of 87, based on a 100-point national scale, according to Sterling’s Best Places, which utilizes surveys and data from groups nationwide, including the Census Bureau.
When considering the cost of doing business, Missouri has fared well in state comparisons. This month, Missouri held its No. 9 spot in the Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States Study, which has placed the Show-Me State the last four years. Produced by Illinois-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate, the study examines job retention efforts, as well as business-friendly factors such as taxes, economic incentives programs and energy costs.
Smart payThe Springfield area also is known for its higher educational opportunities, but at $19.81 per hour, the local mean is 20 percent behind the U.S. hourly wage.
Edward Choate, director of human resources for Missouri State University, said the state’s second largest higher learning institution, which employs nearly 4,000, developed its compensation system about eight years ago. The system is tied to the BLS Employment Cost Index, causing wages at MSU to mimic the movement in the index. While pay in California might be higher, for example, the movement locally should parallel national trends.
He said examining local, regional and statewide wages in comparable job categories also factors into how the school sets pay levels.
He described the previous system as a stair-step that valued seniority above other factors. When the university made the change, Choate said the new compensation protocol was designed to not only offer more competitive wages regionally and nationally but also to promote merit raises.
“There really hasn’t been enough money for merit increases since I’ve been here,” said Choate, who has worked at MSU for roughly four years, noting there have been two across-the-board pay increases in the last year. “We are slowly, but surely, increasing pay.”
In June, the MSU Board of Governors approved a 2 percent pay raise for staff, which closely follows a midyear 2 percent wage hike approved in October, after $4.7 million in unexpected state appropriations became available.
The MSU system puts workers into specific job families, with each job type having a minimum, a midpoint and maximum job pay. For example, in Job Family 3, which includes information technology positions, salaries range from a minimum of $28,283 for a computer operator to a maximum of $97,879 for a coordinator of management information systems.
“The goal of the university is to get everyone up to the midpoint,” Choate said, adding the school occasionally has to meet federal prevailing wage requirements when hiring international staff.[[In-content Ad]]
