CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Studies examine salaries - News

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Jun. 23, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Studies examine salaries

Reviews show public sector workers fare better in Nevada

By ED VOGEL
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

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The complete study can be found at lvchamber.com

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CARSON CITY -- A Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce study released today found state and local government workers in Nevada earn 28 percent more than workers in the private sector.

The study found the median income of Nevada's 136,640 state and local government employees in 2006 was $47,449, 28 percent more than the $37,039 income of Nevada's 1.13 million private sector workers.

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The study only examined pay and didn't compare the value of benefits received by government and private sector workers.

Unlike past state salary surveys, the chamber analysis used payroll information for all companies, including lower-paid workers at fast-food restaurants and chain stores.

But the chamber also analyzed pay for 324 job types for which private companies and governments employ the same type of workers. In 81.5 percent of the cases where the public and private sectors have the same type of workers, state and local government workers earned more, 28.7 percent more on average.

"Our public employees at the local level and in some job classifications are particularly high-paid," said Jeremy Aguero, a principal with Applied Analysis, the firm that helped prepare the study.

For example, median pay for computer specialists in private industry in Nevada was $59,756, versus $66,704 for those employed by governments.

Private sector managers earned $76,539 a year, versus $87,795 for those in the public sector.

The Chamber of Commerce findings contradict the state Department of Personnel's 2006 state salary survey, even though both used payroll information provided to the state.

State employee pay, according to the Personnel Department survey, was 19.2 percent less than private industry pay for similar types of jobs.

The Personnel Department study also found a disparity between the average annual state employee salary, $49,721, and public employees in Nevada's larger counties, who earned $56,537 on average.

Personnel Department officials could not be reached to comment on the discrepancy between their survey and the chamber study.

At the time, the Personnel Department study was criticized because its private industry salary information was based on only 50 major hospitals, casinos, banks and construction companies.

"Most people are employed by smaller companies," said Cara Roberts, the Chamber of Commerce's director of public relations.

The chamber's study comes as legislators prepare for a special session scheduled to begin Friday to address a $250 million state budget shortfall. Among the proposals expected to be discussed is eliminating or postponing 4 percent pay increases due July 1 for state employees and teachers.

Roberts said that was coincidental.

"We aren't putting these numbers out there to make a point in the short term," she said. "If lawmakers find them useful, that is fine.

"We started out a few months ago on these studies," Roberts added. "We didn't have any idea the governor was going to call a special session."

Steve Hill, who until recently served as the chamber's chairman of government affairs, said the study was not released "to stir up" controversy during the special session. But he hopes legislators consider whether state and other public employees should be given the 4 percent cost-of-living increases.

Postponement of the increase would save the state $130 million.

"At this point it doesn't look like it will be their high priority," Hill said. "But if it (the study information) is helpful in the public debate, then that is a good thing."

In addition to the cost-of-living increase, 57 percent of state employees and 67 percent of teachers also are slated to receive 4.5 percent "grade in step increases."

In an interview last week, Roberts noted that state employees are receiving increases in pay at a time when most private companies in Southern Nevada are offering their employees limited or no increases because of the sluggish economy.

Compdata Survey, a firm that analyzes compensation, reported June 4 that companies nationwide are offering on average 3.6 percent pay increases this year, virtually the same as during the past three years. In a report released in September, Culpepper, another research firm, estimated an average of 3.9 percent pay increases for employees in 2008.

The raise averages lag slightly behind a 4.2 percent change in the consumer price index for 12 months ending in May.

State worker groups have long complained that wages paid by local governments in Nevada's largest counties are far higher than what state government pays.

A second Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce study, also released today, supports that theory.

The typical state worker received median pay of $48,491 in 2006, or 2.4 percent more than the national $47,343 average for workers in all states. That placed Nevada state pay 15th highest compared with state pay in other states.

Local government workers in Nevada received $51,332, or 15.6 percent more than the $44,397 national average for local government employees. That is eighth highest for local government pay nationwide.

Hobbs, Ong & Associates and Applied Analysis prepared the studies for the chamber. The firms have in the past prepared a wide variety of studies, including some for government.

"We are in the role of analysts as opposed to advocates," Aguero said. "It is not our duty to determine public policy."

Aguero was surprised by some of the findings.

He found that at 41.4 local and state government employees per 1,000 residents, Nevada has the fewest public employees on a per capita basis in the nation.

He also found that classroom teachers in Nevada receive annualized pay of $44,354, about 6 percent less than the national average. Higher education instructors, or professors, in Nevada earn $63,883, about five percent less than the national norm.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. ex-unlv wrote on July 13, 2008 06:41 PM: As an IT worker at UNLV, most of my peers in the private sector had about 40% higher salary than me. This spring I was laid off due to budget cuts and now have a private sector job that came with a 40% raise. But I'd go back to UNLV if I could, assuming Gibbons can be gotten rid of while some sliver of higher education remains in Nevada. Every state IT worker I know is in the same position; we work for less because we have priorities above money. bigbigwatch wrote on July 09, 2008 07:39 PM: Headcover http://www.taylormadebrand.com/Headcover.html Sunglasses http://www.taylormadebrand.com/Sunglasses.html Is JayDee my evil twin? wrote on June 25, 2008 05:29 AM: RATS! I meant to use "Is JayDee my EVIL twin?" on the last post. Is JayDee my twin? wrote on June 25, 2008 05:09 AM: Hi, Jaydee, Hm. A colleague alerted me to your comment here. It's quite fascinating, I must say. Anyhoo...Interesting thing is, your cute post sounds a lot like a little comedy routine I do, JOKINGLY, about my degrees and never being able to pay for them...blah, blah, blah. A few things are different, though. Like, for example, he's not my husband, his degree is not a BA, and I've NEVER called it measly because he worked his tail off for it. And he doesn't make more than I do, I actually make a smidgen more than he does. For now, anyway. And he, also, deserves every dime he makes because he has a very technical, important job with a ton of responsibility. I would MUCH rather teach (because it is my passion, too) than deal with all the stress and responsibility he deals with every day. At least teaching can be very fun. I wouldn't call his job fun -- EVER. So, yeah, I'm wondering: Did you sort of plagiarize my little comedy stint? I think it's quite funny when I do it, but it's not funny the way you did it. Now you've ruined it for me. How uncool. I will agree that teachers deserve every dime they make, but the rest of what you had to say is all yours. Ok, that's all I have to say. sabato wrote on June 24, 2008 10:56 AM: JayDee instad of complaning about how little you make with your 5 non sensicals degrees go out and find a real job where your husband is working see if they would hire you.As you can see I am one of those posters that can not spell but I am will to bet that you are not more educated than I am.You must be real proud to think that because you can spell and I can`t you are educated and I am not.I have news for you,your skill can be done today by a cheap computer and my not yet.I have chosen not to take advantage of it! sabato wrote on June 24, 2008 10:23 AM: Hot gas If a nurse working for the city of San Francisco can make $3500000 in a year with over time plus benefits that tell me that today nurses are over paid considering that the minimum requirement for R.N is only two years at a junior college.If you are not making a least $100000 after two years of experience here in California then you must not be a good nurse. Nevadan wrote on June 24, 2008 09:37 AM: Much waste comes from CSN. Google "CSN Richard Carpenter Watch". Click at the title of each posting to find comments. Inquisitive wrote on June 24, 2008 09:27 AM: JayDee, is that why you married your husband? Because he, with a "measly BA", makes more money than you do? It sends chills up my spine that you exaggerated how poorly treated you were in this society with all of your degrees. Why don't you spell it out for us, basket-weaving one of them? If the content of your study is gratifying to you, but of little use to the society, then you don't get paid more than a husband who has a "measly BA" degree. I am also a woman with more degrees than my husband but I will never call his degrees "measly". I chose education which pays me less than half of what I made in the industries where I spent over a decade in. I am not complaining because this is what I want to do. I found it hard to believe that while you complain knowledge and degrees brought you nothing, you were trying to preach the importance of education. Something just doesn't add up. You did not truly digest and benefit from your education, and you failed to convey the value of it to anyone subsequently. JayDee wrote on June 24, 2008 04:41 AM: I have been a University professor for twenty years. I have five degrees, including my Ph.D from one of the best Universities in this country. My husband, who has only a measly BA, makes more money than I do in the private sector in a job he has only had for 10 months. I worked full time and went to school full time while pursuing my five degrees. I will not live long enough to pay off all my student loans. And surely, the pay raise I received when I obtained my Ph.D. will never come close to evening the score of the tuition I paid. I work far more hours a week than my husband does. He gets overtime pay. Obviously, I do not. His benefits and retirement package is far better than mine, as is his insurance. I really have to laugh when I see these so-called "studies." Having done my fair share of research and conducted numerous studies of my own (all of which have been published in academic magazines), I know how easy it is to skew the data to make it reflect one's personal agenda. Anyone who takes this "study" seriously is ignorant beyond belief. Further, I notice that many of the posters here complaining that teachers make too much money can not spell, punctuate, or form proper sentence structure. It is clear that these people do not value education, as their own lack of education is so blatantly obvious. If you are stupid, there is a good chance your children will be stupid...no matter how hard we educators try to change that. Stop blaming educators for you and your spawn's lack of intellectual and cognitive abilities. We deserve every penny we make, and more. Hot Gas wrote on June 23, 2008 10:33 PM: The following is non-sense: sabato wrote on June 23, 2008 05:59 PM: shannon If instead of being a teacher you were a R.N nurse you could be making in excess of $100000 a year plus over time an not be worried about a 4% pay rase.A San Francisco nurse with over time made $350000 last year. RN's don't make that much money for a regular work-week, period. I suppose if an RN worked 80 plus hours per week at multiple jobs with no benefits, they could make a lot of money. Of course, the poster provides no support for the claims, which mean they are little more than hot gas. Read All Comments