A lot has been
written about
Volusia County’s average
employment wage as it
compares to surrounding
counties. The most recent state
employment report places
Volusia County’s average annual
wages at $29,933. This compares
to Seminole County at $37,030,
Brevard County at $38,291, and
Orange County at $37,697.
So, why the difference?
“It’s all about workforce
composition, market and
employer wage demands,” said
Doug Vimmerstedt, economics
research manager for the
county Department of
Economic Development. “For
example, comparing Seminole
and Volusia counties with
approximately the same
number of workers, the differences in any one industry
classification can be plus or minus
several thousands of dollars due to market demand for specific job
skills or the employer’s
ability to invest in the workforce.”
Rick Fraser, president of the Center for Business Excellence, puts
it this way: “Every
industry group is impacted by these same market variables. The
composition of a local
workforce always will vary from one community to another.” Fraser
pointed out that
construction workers in Seminole County average about 20 percent
more in annual wages
than do their counterparts in
Volusia County. It’s an issue of
market demand.
The same is true in other
high-skilled, high-waged
classifications, such as
manufacturing. While
Seminole’s annual
manufacturing wages average
$38,171, this isn’t far from the
annual $36,996 average wage
reported by Volusia County
companies.
Although comparatively
equal within the market, the
average annual manufacturing
wages in Seminole and Volusia
counties pale in comparison to
the average in Orange County at
$50,963 and Brevard County at
$58,820.
“That’s because Orange and
Brevard counties have a higher number of national and international
defense and aerospace
companies because of Kennedy Space Center and the influences of the
Orlando
metropolitan market,” said Rick Michael, economic development
director for Volusia
County. “While Volusia County has several larger manufacturing
companies, such as
Tyco/Kendall Healthcare, Boston Whaler and Florida Production
Engineering that employ several hundred workers each, most of the
county’s 430 manufacturing companies are small, privately owned
firms with less than 50 employees.”
Supply and demand within the workforce
continue to influence employer decisions to
increase or adjust wages, according to Fraser.
“We already are seeing some wage rate
adjustments in the communications industry
following the recent entry into the market by
Frontier Communications Solutions in
DeLand.”
The 487 new jobs being offered by
Frontier are averaging up to 15 percent more
than comparable jobs within the community.
“It is not surprising to see other local
companies seriously reviewing their
compensation packages to remain
competitive and attractive to area workers,”
said Vimmerstedt. But overall, the single most
influencing factor in the community’s overall
average wage is the weight and amount of
lower skilled, lower-waged jobs. The four
lowest waged industry classifications in
Volusia County are agriculture, hospitality,
food service and retail.
These employment classifications in
2005 accounted for 67,231 or 41 percent of the
162,435 private sector workers employed in
Volusia County. Collectively, these four
industry groups provide an average annual
wage of $18,575. Similarly, only 34 percent of
the workforce in Seminole County is
represented by the same lower-skilled, lowerwaged
classifications.
“The higher than average 41 percent
represented by these lower-skilled, lowerwaged
jobs within the agricultural, hospitality
and retail sectors significantly skews the
overall values provided by the remaining
portion of the workforce which accounts for
$3.6 billion in payroll with an average annual
wage of $37,953,” Vimmerstedt pointed out.
This means more work needs to be done
to strengthen and diversify the overall
workforce by providing new and improved
opportunities for future workers throughout
Volusia County, said Michael. “This has been
the entire focus and directive by the County
Council through the county’s economic
development strategic plan.”
Since County Council approval of the
plan in June 2002, the economic development
program has influenced more than 2,000 new
jobs with average annual wages in excess of
$36,000. These jobs help to offset the overall
average wage debate.
“We have managed to direct resources in
identifying business recruitment
opportunities by focusing on specified
targeted industries such as manufacturing
and information technologies,” said Michael.
“Since 2002, the average annual wage in
Volusia County has increased 19 percent from
$25,068 to its current level of $29,933.”
