Benefits June 8, 2005

Thirteen Hourly Wage Jobs Suffered 2005 Pay Decline

June 8, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Some 13 of 46 job positions suffered a least a slight drop in hourly wages this year over 2004, according to a survey.
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Business & Legal Reports (BLR) 2005 Survey of Nonexempt Compensation found that those 13 positions showed decreases of between -.06% and -5.81% versus the 2004 survey, according to a news release.

However 32 of the 46 positions surveyed saw higher pay rates while one was flat, according to the 4,100 firms participating in the January 2005 poll, the news release said.

Based on the mean of the mid-50% weighted data for all positions, response to BLR’s survey indicates that nationwide, hourly workers experienced a -1.13% drop in 2005 pay. The Far West and New England/Middle Atlantic regions showed the biggest givebacks, while the Central/Rocky Mountain/Southwest was the only area with more than a token wage increase, the news release said.

Not surprisingly, higher skilled jobs tacked on the biggest pay advances, ranging from .28% to 8.8%. The most highly paid position in BLR’s survey was Power line Installer and Repairer at $20.88 per hour, followed by Toolmaker/Modelmaker at $20.20 per hour. One of the highest year-to-year increases in wages went to Plumber/Pipefitter, with an 8.59% pay increase. Worst performing job was retail sales clerk at $8.91 an hour, where wages fell -5.81%.

An executive summary can be ordered here .

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