2012 Wage and Salary Benchmarking Data Now Available

The average hourly wage for a local manufacturing job is $15.92, up from $15.17 a year ago, while the average starting rate paid locally for unskilled hourly jobs was $10.24, up from $9.89 in 2011, according to the Rochester Business Alliance's 2012 Annual Wage and Salary Surveys.

The surveys, conducted by RBA's Human Resource Services Department, offer local employers comprehensive wage and salary data they can use to benchmark against regional trends.

The RBA conducted four separate surveys for Manufacturing, Nonexempt, Professional/Managerial and Health Care wage and salaries, asking about pay and other compensation.

The surveys are sent to those RBA Corporate and Partner level member companies that signed up to participate.  Of that group, 202 companies, which employ more than 95,000 workers, responded to one or more of the surveys.  Employers reported on more than 320 jobs, including those in management, finance, human resources, information technology, customer service, sales and marketing, health care, and production.

"Many local employers have experienced an increase in hiring recently," said Barbara J. Cutrona, vice president of operations at the Rochester Business Alliance. "Maintaining competitive wage and salary practices can help ensure they are not only attracting new employees, but also retaining the employees they already have."

Each surveyed job has a detailed page of data which includes averages for all respondents as well as breakouts of data by industry and employment size, geographic location (Monroe County and other counties). New this year: for-profit and not-for-profit status.  Average data is reported only when a minimum of five companies provide data.  Additional data is gathered in the supplemental report at the beginning of each survey on average work weeks, benefits as a percent of payroll, starting and average rates by category, and shift differential rates. The salary planning section contains actual and projected wage and structure adjustments.

All member participants receive complimentary results as a benefit of membership.  In addition to the Wage and Salary Surveys, the Rochester Business Alliance Human Resource Services department conducts a variety of other member benchmarking surveys each year including Health Benefits, Pay Trends, Holiday Closing, Turnover and Absenteeism, etc.