Radius Indiana wage and benefits study reports regional employers anticipate hiring in the next year

BEDFORD, Ind. (Feb. 8, 2021) –– Many regional employers expect to add workers over the next 12 months, according to Radius Indiana’s second regional survey of wages and benefits in southwestern Indiana. 

“Businesses and industry in southwest Indiana are competing for workforce talent,” said Ed Cole, president of Dubois Strong, Dubois County’s economic development source. “The Radius Regional Wages and Benefits Survey provides employers the information they need to remain competitive.”

The 2020 Radius Indiana Wages and Benefits Survey gives local companies up-to-date, real-world information about the labor market in the Radius region compared to the state of Indiana and the United States. Seventy-six firms participated in the survey, contributing compensation data for 14,640 employees across 63 occupations, in addition to information about insurance and other benefits. 

“Wage and benefits surveys provide us the means to compare and analyze our compensation packages with other companies in the local market,” said Laura Kessens, Human Resources director for MasterBrand Cabinets in Jasper. “Remaining competitive in compensation allows us to attract, motivate, and retain employees.”

Whorton Marketing and Research, a consulting firm that conducts industry and membership research, conducted the survey in September and October 2020, and Dubois Strong sponsored its completion. No employee names or other personal information were reported to Radius in the production of the report.

“This survey is an important way for Radius and the local economic leaders in our counties to serve private businesses in our communities,” said Chris May, director of Manufacturing and Workforce Services for Radius Indiana. “Delivering timely and accurate information to the manufacturing sector allows those companies to be alert to changes in the labor market. We want to deliver tools like these, and in the future we want to build even better and stronger relationships with our local employers so that we can become more responsive to their needs.”

Among the survey’s findings: Average salaries for positions including office managers and material managers in the Radius region were below state and national averages, according to the report. Internal auditors and construction managers in the region earn between the state and federal levels, while sales managers/supervisors and chief information officers earn a higher mean salary in the Radius region than the state and national averages.

The survey also reported: 

• Employers planning pay raises in the next 12 months: 77 percent; 
• Average number of employees added in the previous six months: 30.7 employees; 
• Average number of employees laid off in the previous six months: 27 employees; 
• Mean salaries for engineers rose by 12.56 percent compared to the 2018 survey findings; 
• Assembler mean salaries grew by 8.38 percent during the same period; 
• Forklift/Equipment Operator mean salaries declined by 0.2 percent in the two-year period. 

“The local business sector and the local economic development professionals in the Radius region have worked together to develop this survey, and it is a very tangible example of the way economic development organizations can be used by their local businesses to deliver a service and a tool,” Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle said. “We look forward to finding more opportunities like this to help our businesses be successful.”

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About Radius Indiana: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.