Survey says

Local wage survey results to highlight economic forum

Flathead Valley manufacturers pay their line supervisor foremen about $7,000 less per year than the national median, but manufacturing computer and information system managers earn substantially more here than elsewhere in the United States.

Those statistics are a sample of the wage survey results that will be rolled out Wednesday at the third annual Flathead Valley Economic Outlook event at WestCoast Kalispell Center Hotel.

Gregg Davis, a Flathead Valley Community College economist who organized the comprehensive survey, and his research associates, Denise Grabowski and Lynette Smith, will share survey results as part of a three-pronged economic outlook.

Other speakers are real estate appraiser Jim Kelly and Dennis Beams of Glacier Bank.

The meeting begins at 7:30 a.m.; those attending should respond by calling 257-7711 or by e-mailing jobsnow@centurytel.net. Jobs Now Inc. and area chambers of commerce are sponsoring the event.

"This is information that has been totally unavailable at the county level," Gregg said.

More than 1,600 surveys were sent out last summer; 198 were returned. The 12 percent response rate is "pretty good," Davis said.

Data is still being tabulated, but the research associates have already gleaned important details from the study.

Grabowski pointed out how many local small businesses that can't afford benefits such as medical insurance are giving employees other options.

"They've come up with some creative alternatives," she said. "It's fun to see they're trying to figure out ways to provide benefits."

In lieu of health-insurance coverage, some employers pay $100 to $250 a month that either goes toward an employee's personal health insurance or helps defray medical costs.

The survey indicated only 50.8 percent of employers responding provide some type of health insurance. Small businesses of 19 or fewer employees accounted for 90 percent of the survey respondents. Fifty-seven percent of the responding businesses have four or fewer employees.

"Our whole economy is ultra-small business," Davis said. "And that's where the growth opportunities are, the entrepreneur-type businesses."

Followup calls were made to encourage business owners to fill out the lengthy survey. Questionnaires can still be returned if employers haven't thrown out the survey.

The survey process was time consuming. Davis compared it to building a house: "It took longer than it was supposed to and cost more money."

Government offices weren't included in the survey.

Box stores and fast-food restaurants also didn't participate in the survey, but Davis was happy with the across-the-board response from all sectors of business. In the retail category, the survey had respondents in all subcategories except one.

He shared a couple of survey results as a teaser to Wednesday's meeting.

Office managers in the retail-trade industry earn a median of $19,968 annually in Columbia Falls while their counterparts in Kalispell earn $21,060. In Whitefish the same manager earns $28,080, but in Lakeside/Somers a retail office manager earns $40,000 a year.

The disparity in office-manager benchmark salaries puts employers on notice that "someone is paying that $40,000 figure," Davis explained. If employers take exception to the results, he's open to accepting data from those who doubt the statistics.

"If someone says it's hogwash, then tell us why it is hogwash," he said.

In the manufacturing category, line supervisor foremen earn $31,000 annually here, compared to the national median of $38,039. Computer and information system managers earn about $80,000 a year here but earn $74,890 nationally.

A manufacturing executive secretary or administrative assistant earns $30,600 annually in the Flathead Valley and about $33,000 elsewhere in the country.

"These statistics tell local employers what their competition is doing and what other industries are doing," Davis said.

The survey also will offer information about how businesses determined which holidays are typically given as paid days for workers, how employees qualify for benefits and how employers accommodate workers called to jury duty.

"That's a level of specificity that to date has not been available," Davis said.

Liz Harris, executive director of Jobs Now, said the information will be invaluable for economic development.

"The biggest issue in our economic development is our work force and our employability," she said.

Potential employers frequently request wage information for certain occupations, she said, but the best that's usually available is murky data and estimates based on statewide figures.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com