To better inform decision making, the Holmes County Economic Development Council contracted with OSU Extension Community Development to engage Holmes County manufacturing, finance and insurance, healthcare, accommodation and food service, wholesale trade and transportation businesses in the collection of wage and benefit information. Data was collected via an online survey in the fall of 2023.
Targeted businesses were private entities that shared similar job categories that included a mixture of production and administrative positions, both hourly and salaried. All the companies received formal email letters of invitation to participate in the survey.
Email invitations were followed up with another email notice and a web-based link to the survey, including instructions for completion. A total of 121 businesses responded to the survey, an increase of 78% from the last wage and benefit survey conducted in 2020.
Researchers designed the survey in consultation with the Holmes County Economic Development Council to include questions that appropriately reflected wage and benefit levels for occupational categories within six business sectors referenced above. The survey included the following sections:
- Company information
- Wage information for 40 employment positions
- Insurance benefits
- Paid time off and other benefits
- Contact information
The survey included questions that covered general information about the businesses and more detailed information about the 40 employment positions. Information gathered for each job description included the number of employees, starting wage, and highest wage. Results were then compared with 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics federal and Ohio median wages for like employee positions to provide a universal perspective of how wages compare.
This is the third Wage and Benefit survey conducted in Holmes County since 2017. Similar to previous surveys, the researchers were pleased with the increase in the number of survey responses received. A total of 121 businesses responded to the 2023 survey, while 68 businesses responded to the 2020 survey and 27 businesses responded in the 2017 survey, respectively. The researchers believe that the increased participation in the recent survey was due, in large part, to additional business classifications to the survey, having conducted previous wage and benefit surveys and the efforts of the Holmes County Economic Development Council and its various partners.