Which jobs are getting paid more? From entry level to management, York County looks up
The costs to recruit, hire and keep the workers who make York County products is on the rise.
For the fifth year, York County Economic Development released its wage and benefit survey. Record participation in the survey showed new hires are getting paid more than in recent years. The survey offers a temperature check for the manufacturing and production industries.
“Each year, this survey has been used to support salary and wage adjustments when discussing operational expenses with my division’s leadership,” said Koppers Performance Chemicals talent acquisition specialist James Taylor.
Taylor is a participant since the survey began in 2017. The data, along with outside regional workforce figures, help companies with strategies to recruit.
“I went back to my plant to see if the things others were doing could help in our journey of getting our roles filled,” Taylor said as part of the survey release.
Taylor isn’t alone.
“It has been well-received by the business community and is helpful as companies routinely monitor wages and benefits offered to ensure that they remain competitive in the local labor market,” said Jason Flora, project manager for the survey. “This year we received record participation which goes to show how relevant this topic is to local companies.”
How do York County wages compare to region?
The survey comes after and includes information from recent federal and state employment data that shows:
▪ York County has 417 production occupation jobs open. The Charlotte region has more than 3,600 such jobs. The 2.6% April unemployment rate in York County is below the Charlotte region (3.2%) and national (3.4%) figures.
▪ Hourly manufacturing wages in York County at $32.11 are lower than neighboring Mecklenburg County ($39.05) and the national average ($36.12), but higher than the Charlotte region ($31.60) and South Carolina ($30.59). Manufacturing wage growth in a year is higher in York County, 5.6%, than in any of those other areas.
▪ Transportation and warehousing wages in York County at $22.01 are lower than the state, Charlotte region, federal and Mecklenburg County rates of about $23 to $27 an hour. Wage growth in a year at .5% also is lower than those areas, which range from 1.2% to 3.3% growth.
What do jobs pay in York County?
The new York County survey targeted manufacturing and warehouse operations based within the county. It was sent to 189 employers in April. Of the 79 companies that responded, 80% are primarily in manufacturing. The survey represents companies with more than 14,000 combined employees.
Key findings from the survey include:
▪ Average entry level wages at $16.04 an hour are up 9% in a year. They’re up 27% in five years.
▪ Unskilled of semi-skilled hourly wages at $18.36 an hour are up 10% in a year and 30% in five years. Unskilled or semi-skilled contract worker hourly rates at $14.92 an hour are up 5% in a year and 24% in four years.
▪ Skilled or technical hourly wages at $22.86 an hour are up 4% since last year and 25% in five years. Temporary or contract workers for those same jobs get $19.13 an hour, up 5% in a year and 25% in four years.
▪ The $73,922 average annual salary for technical or production jobs jumped 14% in a year.
▪ The $116,903 average annual salary for executive or management jobs also jumped 14% in a year. It’s up 20% in three years.
“Over the last five-years, we are seeing local industry wages outpace inflation in York County,” Flora said.
Several occupations saw significant hourly wage increases in the past year. Metal treatment operators topped that list at a 43% jump, followed by production manager (14%), warehouse laborer (13%), automated machine operator (12%), welder (12%) and buyer or purchasing agent (12%).
Almost a half-dozen occupations saw hourly wage decreases. They include chemical operator (-10%), fabricator (-6%), CNC machinist (-3%), CNC operator (-1%) and warehouse shipping (-1%).
Surveyed jobs that earned the highest hourly rates were industrial engineer ($43.64), production manager ($42.80), warehouse manager ($35.09) and buyer or purchasing agent ($33.99). Jobs with the lowest rates were forklift operator ($17.56), warehouse laborer ($17.89), warehouse shipping ($19.83) and automated machine operator ($19.92).
Raise, benefit info
The 3.5% annual raise average is the highest figure since the survey began in 2017. The survey also found 58% of companies offer pay premiums depending on shifts, 73% offer a bonus or profit sharing option. Entry level employees get a sign on bonus at 13% of companies, up to $5,000. Bonuses for length of service are offered at 20% of companies.
All surveyed companies offer paid holiday or vacation, and more than 90% of them offer life, health and dental insurance each. Other options range from retirement or pension plans (73% of companies) to unpaid family leave (65%), performance bonuses (55%), tuition reimbursement (53%), paid maternity leave (38%), paid paternity or family leave (29%) and child care or child care subsidy (4%).
A third of companies offer remote or work from home options. Flex time, flexible or hybrid work schedules are offered at 24% of companies.
Companies stated the most important benefits or trends to recruit, hire and retain employees are incentive pay or performance bonuses, flexible work schedules and paid maternity leave. The least important were unpaid family leave, remote work options and paid paternity or family leave.
Criminal background checks and drug testing are part of pre-employment screening for 85% of companies. Other measures are less frequent, including education verification (33%), sex offender registry (27%) and social media checks (4%).
The top given reason for employee turnover is higher wages elsewhere, a response up 20% in a year. Policy violations and overworked employees rank next among reasons workers leave.
The number of open positions at companies is down significantly in a year. The employee turnover rate this year is at 17%.
About half of production jobs require education beyond high school to fill. Only 21% of those jobs require a four-year college degree or higher.
“With unemployment rates still very low, we are hearing from local industry, and this holds true in our survey, that turnover is on the rise as employees seek higher wages elsewhere,” Flora said.
This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 9:25 AM.
