Labor
Take advantage of the state’s
large supply – more than 45,000:
- trained team assemblers
- cabinetmakers and bench carpenters
- carpenters and woodworkers
- sawing machine setters and operators
Affordability of the work force is
ensured. The average industry wage in
West Virginia is 80 percent of the average
wage in the competing states and 78
percent of the national average.
State productivity is revealed in the
fact that West Virginia ranked 10th
nationally in wood industry GSP per
capita in 2003 and seventh in wood industry
GSP per worker.
Any new company that creates 10 or
more jobs qualifies for the Governor’s
Guaranteed Work Force Program, which
trains new workers to meet new skill
requirements and/or trains existing
employees. West Virginia ensures a work-ready
labor force. Computer literacy is required
in grades kindergarten through 12. Three
hundred schools throughout the state’s
55 counties provide vocational education
programs.
| Key
Occupations Required |
W.Va.
Supply |
WV
Average Wage
|
U.S.
Average Wage |
WV
as Ratio
of U.S. |
| Construction:
Carpenters |
5,870 |
$29,550 |
$38,250
|
77% |
| Construction: Construction laborers |
4,310
|
$27,520
|
$28,920
|
95% |
| Production: Team assemblers |
3,350
|
$22,500
|
$25,780
|
87% |
| Production: First-line supervisors/managers of production workers |
3,740 |
$47,510
|
$48,290
|
98% |
| Production: Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters |
1,680
|
$22,140
|
$27,290
|
81% |
| Production: Woodworking machine setters, operators |
450 |
$19,890
|
$24,090
|
83% |
| Production: Sawing machine setters, operators and tenders |
650 |
$18,600
|
$24,030
|
77% |
| Production: Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers |
2,610
|
$31,040
|
$32,220
|
96% |
| Production: Furniture finishers |
110 |
$18,680
|
$25,530
|
73% |
| Production: Cutting, punching and press machine setters and operators |
1,200 |
$26,610
|
$27,240
|
98% |
| Production: Helpers - production workers |
2,290 |
$21,170
|
$21,590
|
98% |
| Production: Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers |
2,570
|
$32,290
|
$31,560
|
102%
|
|
Transportation and material
moving: Industrial truck and tractor operators
|
2,770
|
$26,260
|
$28,390
|
92%
|
|
Transportation and material
moving: Laborers and freight, stock and material movers
|
13,620
|
$19,490
|
$22,190
|
88%
|
Source: U.S. Industry-Occupation
Matrix: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - West Virginia Occupational Wages: 2004
Bureau of Employment Programs
Approach
To confirm the viability of the value-added wood products cluster as
a target industry for West Virginia, a comparative analysis of operating costs and
profitability was prepared for a national aver-age operating establishment in West
Virginia versus the 10 surrounding states considered to be the state's principal
competitors: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky , Indiana, Michigan,
Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The national average operating establishment was based on industry average
operating and financial characteristics derived from the most current Annual Survey
of Manufactures, published by the U.S. Census Bureau; Annual Statement Studies,
published by Robert Morris Associates, and national input/output coefficients for
various factor costs. This information was used to develop a detailed annual operating
expense statement, which served as a baseline for estimating costs for West Virginia
and the comparison states. These national baseline costs were adjusted by state-specific
cost differentials for various factors (wage rates, utility rates, etc.) to derive
operating costs for West Virginia and the comparison states.
|