Hiring Rates Improving In Utility Industries

Hiring Rates Improving In Utility Industries

The July 2012 BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey reports that hire rates for the month of May saw little change when compared to the same statistic from 2011. However, one notable exception can be found in the area of Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities. This group of sub-industries experienced a 1.1% hiring rate increase over May 2011 with a 3.7% of all hires made in May 2012 falling into this industry breakout- approximately 180,000 individuals hired throughout the month.

While this industry is traditionally paid lower than many other hourly positions, a jump in hiring could reflect an increased demand for some of these more physically demanding jobs in the private sector. Reporting hourly wage data from the second half of January 2012, the 2012 ERC Wage Survey did in fact see a modest increase in pay for a number of these positions. For example, a Warehouse Worker earned a median salary $13.68, which is up about 12% from the 2011 survey results. Other positions, such as Drivers (Heavy: $16.25 and Local: $16.80) and Fork Lift Operators ($15.00) saw slightly lower improvements in wages, but do appear to be trending consistently upwards over the past several years.

View ERC’s Wage & Salary Adjustment Survey Results

The survey reports data from Northeast Ohio organizations regarding their actual and projected wage and salary adjustments.

View the Results