March 19, 2024

Survey says wages on the rise

I dropped off for you the survey of wages in the community,” said Bill Trickey, executive director of the Clark County Development Corporation, to the City Council at Tuesday night’s meeting. “As you can see, the manufacturing sector continues to strengthen in terms of wages. We’re really close to what they’re paying in Polk County.”

Trickey said there are a number of entry-level jobs paying $14 an hour, and they’re positions that regularly offer overtime.

“I think it causes everybody to rethink maybe some attitudes that we’ve had about our income levels. We are approaching a good middle-class working wage,” said Trickey. “I was encouraged by that.”

Local employers continue to try to attract new workers to the area. A big focus when planning Career Days for young people is emphasizing the idea of having a career versus “just a job,” said Trickey, but just as important is re-establishing healthy attitudes toward work.

“One of the things one of the employers said — and they all agreed with it — was we need to talk to them about coming to work every day,” he said.

Tricky told the council he didn’t believe Osceola had yet reached the point where the existing supply of workers had met the demand, so there is potential for wages to continue to rise.

“We’re still struggling to find workers,” he said, “and wages will have to continue to strengthen until we reach that place.”

It’s a trend seen across the U.S., which is pushing support toward career training programs. The same thing is happening outside of Clarke County, which is a good thing, he said, as companies won’t feel pressure to move to other locations where they can pay workers less.

During the same meeting, Mayor Thomas Kedley discussed a recent tour he took of Osceola Foods. The plant is the third-largest Hormel facility in the nation, and he said, they’re here to stay. In fact, they plan to keep growing.

Trickey said the key to providing the workforce they need is teaching young people “how work works,” so they can achieve the income they’d like without moving away from their friends and family.