More in South Florida to see pay hikes soon

South Florida industries are booming — from construction to accounting to engineering. But workers’ wages haven’t seemed to budge.

That’s despite windfall tax savings this year for corporations, which have been spent mostly on stock buybacks and dividends.

Now, economic data on a national, state and local level indicates that wages are moving up. South Florida has been outpacing much of the nation in job growth, and workers should start seeing pay increases by year’s end, if they haven’t already, economists say.

Employers are being forced to pay more to retain and attract workers in a hotly competitive market, recruiters say. Their workers aren’t waiting for an annual pay raise to roll around — they’re jumping ship.

“We’ve gotten several calls wanting average salaries for existing employees. [Employers] say, ‘I don’t want them to be poached. It’s a real concern right now,’ ” said Christina Donnelly, division director and vice president for Accountemps in West Palm Beach, which is part of staffing firm Robert Half International.

“If you’ve got good people, you really have to do your market research and make sure you’re paying competitively to keep your existing employees,” she said.

In August, U.S. average hourly earnings were up 2.9 percent from one year earlier, the fastest pace since June 2009, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Florida, the average hourly wage increased 3 percent in July. August numbers are not yet available.

“The drivers of wage growth in South Florida are positive,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist for PNC Bank, which has branch locations throughout the state. “We should see growth that’s above the national average in the rest of 2018 and 2019.”

Wells Fargo senior economist Mark Vitner pointed to average weekly wages in South Florida, which were above the national numbers in March. Broward’s average weekly wages were up 4.9 percent over the year; Miami-Dade County’s were 4.5 percent; and Palm Beach County were 3.1 percent.

An economic forecast issued in July by Sean Snaith, economist for the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness, shows wages and salaries climbing steadily through 2024.

Snaith said he expects South Florida’s average annual wage growth will be 3.5 percent and that the average annual wage level will be $60,200, up from $49,500 in 2018, and the highest of any metro area in the state.

South Florida’s fastestgrowing sector will be construction, with 6.9 percent average annual growth, followed by the professional and business services sector, which will grow at an average of 4.3 percent annually, he said. None of the tricounty region’s industry sectors will experience a decline, according to his forecast.

The tight labor market, where there are more jobs and fewer candidates, is what’s finally causing wages to rise.

Twenty-seven percent of South Florida employers said they plan to hire more people from October through December, an increase from 21 percent for the same period last year, according to a recent survey by staffing company Manpower-Group.

In July, there was a ratio of 1.6 job-seekers in Florida to every advertised job; that compares with a ratio of 6.7 job-seekers for every job in May and June 2009, according to Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity.

As a result, some companies’ existing employees are getting job offers they can’t refuse.

A significantly higher salary is one of the prime perks of taking a new job, according to U.S. professionals surveyed this year by Robert Half International. Sixtyfour percent polled think changing roles every few years can be a beneficial move financially — and they’re right, Donnelly said.

But many workers look for another job without broaching a pay raise with their current employer, Donnelly said. If you like your job, “it makes sense to ask that current employer for a raise prior to jumping ship,” she said.