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Published: April 07, 2008 04:48 pm    print this story   email this story     

Tight labor market forcing businesses to boost wages

By Robert Barron, Staff Writer

A tight labor market and expanding jobs in Enid have resulted in an increase in starting salaries at some of Enid’s largest employers.

Kevin McCarson of Star Tek announced the in-bound call center increased its starting wages from $8.25 per hour to $9.25 per hour.

“It’s the nature of the business. We take care of our people here and we realize the cost of living is going up and we want to compensate our employees,” McCarson said.

The company currently has 450 employees and plans an expansion to 500 people. McCarson said they eventually plan to be even larger.

Star Tek is a customer call center, tailored to the top Fortune 500 companies. They are an inbound call center.

At Advance Food Co. a new wage schedule was announced in August. Company spokesman Brian Hayden said starting wages are divided into areas of work. Production wages in the plant go from $9 an hour to $12 per hour and include an attendance bonus. In the distribution center, wages go from $10 to $14 per hour and in the maintenance division wages go up to $19.50 per hour.

Hayden said Enid is traditionally a tight labor market and for the last 10 to 15-years unemployment in Enid has been lower than the national average.

Jon Blankenship, executive director for the Greater Enid Chamber of Commerce said the increasing wages are an indication of the tight labor market.

Ron Lukenbaugh, of Midwest Wholesale said the unemployment rate for Enid and Garfield County is an indicator of what wages may do. As the unemployment numbers decline wages will increase to recruit and retain employees.

“As the job market tightens, you will have to pay more to recruit and train, so you don’t have to train new employees all the time,” Lukenbaugh said.

Employers keep an eye on the cost of living and will often compensate employees for those increasing costs. Employers know they must increase wages to compensate for higher living costs, which subtract from employees discretionary income.

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