Despite small raise, Idaho state workers lose ground on pay
Though Idaho lawmakers agreed to raise state employee pay this year by an average of 3 percent, state worker salaries have fallen even further behind market rates. An annual state report shows that Idaho classified state employee pay now lags 22.6 percent below market rates, compared to 19.87 percent at this point last year. Idaho also lags compared to surrounding states, with state employees paid more in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Montana and Wyoming, the report found, a gap that’s also widened since last year.
On Thursday, the Legislature’s joint committee on employee compensation will hold an all-day hearing in room EW 42 of the Capitol, at which it’ll hear presentations on the report and more, and starting at 2:45 p.m., take public testimony. The full agenda is online here.
Idaho’s average salary for all classified state employees rose to $42,744 in October, up from $41,308 a year earlier. The state’s largest agency, the Department of Health and Welfare, saw turnover rates rise to 15.2 percent in fiscal year 2015, which ended July 1; that’s up from 13.6 percent the previous year, and 11.5 percent the year before that. “Pay is the main reason,” said department spokesman Tom Shanahan, according to exit interviews with departing employees. Those who left for private-sector jobs reported an average 26 percent increase in their pay.
The state report from the Idaho Division of Human Resources, which is required by law, recommends another 3 percent merit increase for state workers next year, at a cost of $17.3 million to the state’s general fund and $38.1 million from all funds, while keeping benefits the same. It also notes that Idaho employees have an average of 10.2 years of state service, a figure that’s been gradually falling since 2010, when it was 11 years. In the past year, the average age of a worker who left Idaho state employment was 46.6.
House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said, “We treat our employees the way we treat the rest of state government, whether it’s buildings or funding programs we have to do. I think it’s unfortunate, especially in those positions that are competitive. We end up being a training ground, and we end up losing those that we want to keep.” You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.
