Southland starting salary increases slowing. (An Advertising Supplement: Staffing & Employee Benefits).

The Southern California job market will experience a moderate slowdown in growth for the first half of 2002. However, most companies are not anticipating large workforce reductions according to statistics from the 17th Annual Employment Survey commissioned by Thomas Staffing, a leading staffing services company. The slowdown is expected to impact starting salaries for office workers as well as contribute to a slow down in wage inflation.

According to the survey, most starting salary increases in 2002 will be modest and are expected to range from a decrease of 1% to an increase of 9%, reversing a multi-year trend of very aggressive increases.

Only three of the 10 job categories that were surveyed reported increases exceeding 5%. Those categories were Human Resource Manager, Accounting Clerk and Executive Assistant The starting salary changes for the remaining job categories ranged from a 1% decrease to a 4.6% increase. According to the survey, the job category with the largest starting salary increase was Human Resource Manager, with an expected increase of 9% over what was projected in the 2001 survey.

According to Doug Slack, President of Thomas Staffing, "The demand for qualified, multi-skilled office professionals has softened because of the weaker economy and diminished job growth. Employers are no longer being forced to offer significant starting salary increases in order to attract new employees."

Slack continued, "However, even though job growth will be weaker than in year's past, the good news is, despite economic uncertainty and world events, there is still positive job growth projected and the fundamentals of a healthy job market are present."

Survey Indicators

The projected outcome of the change in the employment market would indicate that salary increases will be higher among more skilled workers and job movement will inevitably decrease in 2002.

Southland employers continue to offer moderate starting salary increases to administrative staff workers who possess specific and enhanced skills. "Executive Assistant, Administrative Assistant, and Accounting Clerk positions all require enhanced skills, training and experience. The survey suggests that these positions continue reaping the benefits of increased starting salaries because of the additional experience the employee possesses and the productivity they bring to the employer," noted Slack.

With smaller starting salary increases expected for 2002, many of those currently employed may be hesitant to look elsewhere for employment. "In recent years it was relatively easy for administrative and support staff employees to switch jobs and increase their wages because employers were starved for qualified workers and were willing to offer many incentives to attract employees," said Slack.

"Now, with diminished job growth and a weaker economy, employers no longer need to offer such aggressive salary incentives. This situation may encourage those currently employed to keep their current position because the chances for a substantial salary increase with another company has diminished."

"A hidden benefit of retaining employees for a longer time is many companies may now be able to develop stronger, more productive work teams. This would help the employer to be more competitive and profitable, which in turn, strengthens the probability that the employee would receive a salary increase in the future."

Survey Specifics

Conducted annually by an outside market research firm, the "Perceptions and Expectations Research" determines market trends and future hiring expectations in Southern California. This year's survey conducted by Populus, sampled 582 randomly selected companies with a minimum of $5.0 million in gross annual sales, employing at least 25 individuals.

Populus gathered data between September 18, 2001 and November 9, 2001 from companies in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. It should be noted that all the interviews were conducted after the tragic events of September 11 and the effect of these events cannot be assessed regarding response patterns, response rates or cross-year comparisons.

Jeanne Decker is Los Angeles Area Manager for Thomas Staffing.