Mountain States Employers Council (MSEC), a leader in human resource and employment law services for the business community, announced the findings of its recent employee pay projections survey and found that Arizona employers are anticipating a 2.8 percent pay increase in 2013. The projected increase is higher than the 2.4 percent projected increase for 2012.

Survey findings were collected from 580 organizations in Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming and represented a cross-section of industries, including the government, manufacturing, natural resources, non-profit, technology, financial and real estate, insurance, health care, retail and wholesale, service, construction, and utilities.

“Our survey data indicates that employers in Arizona are looking more positively at economic conditions in 2013 and projecting continued improvements in employee pay,” said Patty Goodwin, director of surveys for Mountain States Employers Council.  “Mountain States Employers Council surveys member organizations throughout the year to build an understanding of compensation budget and views related to economic conditions.  Survey data can then help employers across the state with total compensation planning and benchmarking for their organizations.”

Key findings from the survey included:
> Pay increase projections by location. Of the three states surveyed, employers in Arizona reported the highest pay increase projection at 2.8 percent, while Colorado and Wyoming came in at 2.4 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.  Metro Phoenix employers projected a 2.9 percent pay increase; Tucson employers surveyed predicted a 2.6 percent increase.
> Arizona non-profit and public sector employees projected to see greatest increase. Non-profit employers across Arizona are forecasting raises of 3.4 percent in 2013; government employers (not including utilities) are projecting a 3.1 percent increase.
> Arizona manufacturing industry reports lowest projected increase. Manufacturing employers report a 1.9 percent projected increase in pay for 2013, and come in the lowest of industries participating in the survey.
> Compared to previous years, Arizona employers’ projections are up from the 2.4 percent increase in pay estimated for 2012. By industry, Arizona’s public employers last year reported the lowest pay projection at 0.0 percent and the retail/wholesale industry the highest projection at 2.8 percent.

“Mountain States Employers Council watches a number of economic and compensation indicators to assist Arizona decision makers in planning future salary adjustments and the surveys help provide a complete look at the local market,” said William L. Smith, Jr., MSEC vice president.  “Our goal is to support local organizations by serving as a clearinghouse of business, economic and human resources information used in the development of personnel policies, benefit design, and compensation plans.”

For more information, visit MSEC.org.