[Winona Online Democracy] Terri
The information you ask for is available at http://www.mnpro.com/ and if you zero in on Winona it will provide relevant data. It not only provides employment number but the employee levels of the major companies. It also breaks down the hourly pay rates by occupations. Further and more detailed information can be obtain from the job services with hourly wages and very specific occupational breakdowns for LaCrosse and the Rochester data bases. http://www.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/Home.htm Other than Food, Tourism and Retail related businesses I think the wages for entry level workers does provide a starting wage to start an adult life and most companies provide not only annual evaluations for increases, some cost of living adjustments and benefits. In addition many have programs in place for additional training and educational reimbursement which most often provide additional compensation after completion or on the next round of evaluations of employee performance and ambition. Add to that the fact that the training and on the job experience opens the door for a new job at another company requiring more than an entry level worker. Paul Double -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of terri hyle Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 8:05 PM My apologies in advance if this is a repeat posting. I tried to post the following question a couple of days ago, but apparently something went amiss. No worries--the discussion is still going so, I'll ask again: For those of you who are employers (and for everyone else), what would you consider an entry level wage in your business (or in Winona)? What do you expect in terms of educational background and experience for that wage? What sort of benefits, if any? What would it take to increase that wage? How much time? Experience? Increase in productivity (and how do you measure that?) How much of a raise. Is an entry level wage sufficient for a young adult to live on independently (ie, pay rent, utilities, groceries, perhaps a used car and car insurance, savings)? Imagine that you are 18-24 years old--or older, with tastes that were not extravagant, even by your generation's standards. Look at the rents, cost of utilities, auto insurance, groceries. Could you live on an entry level wage? For how long? The reason I'm asking is that I think that there are several reasons that employers in Winona may be struggling to find the quality of employees they wish to hire for entry level wages. One may be a lack of work ethic. I am certain this is partly true. I am also certain that part of the problem is that it is genuinely difficult to make ends meet, even with a room mate or two, working for low wages (and the generally equally low or non-existant benefits.), especially if you have little hope of increasing your earnings enough to allow you to upgrade to a nicer apartment, nicer car, perhaps, etc. And if you have medical expenses, or car repairs, all of your savings is likely eaten up pretty quickly. Just curious. Terri Hyle _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
