FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (KAM) released Tuesday the results of its 2019-20 Wage and Benefits Survey. The survey, which was brought back in 2019 per the request of businesses and economic developers from across the state, is a comprehensive report on the state of manufacturing employment in Kentucky pre-COVID-19.
All manufacturers located in Kentucky were eligible to participate. All companies that participated received complimentary executive summaries of the report, which consisted of a compilation of wage and benefits package data specific to manufacturing jobs and companies from across the commonwealth.
“We realize much has changed in the world since this data was collected in the fall of 2019,” said KAM Executive Director Lee Lingo. “With a global pandemic leading to an unprecedented, fundamental change in our workforce and work habits, the Wage and Benefits Survey is more important than ever. Collecting workforce data in upcoming years will be critical in understanding how this pandemic has reshaped not only our workforce but also benefit preferences and wage demands. We look forward to even greater manufacturer participation in our next survey.”
This report provides detailed wage information for 90 different manufacturing jobs. Wages are reported separately for union and non-union employees. Additionally, descriptive measures such as mean, 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles are also shown for each job.
The goal of the survey is to provide insight about benefits and working conditions in the manufacturing industry. The results will help identify current trends and best practices in employee recruitment and retention, and all manufacturers are encouraged to participate to maximize the data pool. KAM also will continue using the anonymized data to promote manufacturing and skilled trades careers across the commonwealth.
All the information was collected by IQS Research, a highly respected independent research company, and outside consulting group MCM CPAs & Advisors was involved in the HR advisory aspects of designing and creating the survey. The survey was made possible by support from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, MCM CPAs & Advisors, Advantage Kentucky Alliance, Murray State University, and South Central Kentucky.
“The 16 colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) are the state’s largest providers of workforce training and readiness,” said KCTCS President Dr. Jay Box. “With more than 100,000 students across Kentucky, it is important for us to present them with facts about the careers they want to pursue. That’s why this new survey is so helpful to us.”
The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers plans to open the upcoming 2020 survey to Kentucky manufacturers in the summer of 2020. This new survey will help assess the full impact of COVID-19 on Kentucky’s manufacturing workforce, and KAM encourages all manufacturers in the state to participate when the survey opens.
For more information, or purchase an Executive Summary or Full 2019-20 Wage and Benefits Report, please visit kam.us.com/wage-and-benefits.
