MTSU, HEP Conducting Wage, Benefit Study Starting Wednesday

The Highlands Economic Partnership (HEP) will assist Middle Tennessee State University in their annual wage and benefit study starting Wednesday.

Economic and Community Development Coordinator Yvonne Pickering said the study will help area companies see where they stack up in their respected industries.

“It gives us a competitive edge as far as what we have available here and what communities the industries would want to be in for several reasons,” Pickering said, “such as livability factors, cost of living, all of that will play into an industry wanting to move here.”

Pickering said the study not only shows how companies compare with each other, but how regions stack up as well.

“It does give us a better outlook on what’s actually going on throughout the Upper Cumberland and how we rate against all our other industries throughout the state,” Pickering said. “It just helps us and makes us more viable in bringing more employees here.”

Residents in five of the Upper Cumberland’s 14 counties had average weekly salaries of $700 or more in 2017, according to MTSU and the USDA (Source: 2017 Middle Tennessee Wage & Benefit Survey)

The last wage and benefits study in 2017 showed residents in five Upper Cumberland counties had average weekly salaries of over $700, with Smith County having the highest at $746.

Pickering said the study will help showcase what the Upper Cumberland has to offer to citizens considering a move to the area.

“I think it will create a dialogue for us with our different industries so we can help them to achieve their best goals in employment, and bring people to our region,” Pickering said.

Over 350 Middle Tennessee companies participated in the 2017 survey. Approximately 53 percent of employers stated employee turnover was their biggest issue, while 43 percent said absenteeism was also a problem.