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<br />Lamar County - Paris Economic Development Plan <br /> <br />The Task: Within two years, the PEDC will develop a comprehensive worker training system <br />which has the ability to create and fund customized training programs for qualified primary <br />businesses. <br /> <br />Labor - Management Relations: <br /> <br />Of great concern to many production employers is the "reliability" of the workforce. In some <br />areas of the United States, there is an extreme adversarial relationship between management and <br />labor. This has caused frequent work disruptions (strikes) in the past. Communities which have <br />had a history of management - labor problems are shunned by most employers. <br /> <br />Paris does not have such an environment. <br /> <br />Recommendation: There is no specific action the community needs to take regarding this issue <br />relative to economic development. <br /> <br />Currents Wage Rates: <br /> <br />An employer, regardless of the skill level needed, will pay a wage relative to the marketplace. In <br />high cost areas, an employer will likely have to pay a wage higher than the national average. For <br />the same job in a lower cost area, the wages would be lower. <br /> <br />The average earnings for a wage and salaried worker in Paris are 76% of the Texas average and <br />73% of the national average. <br /> <br />This places Paris in a very competitive situation. The national average wage for a business <br />which manufactures steel tanks and containers (NAICS 3324) is $46,600. It is reasonable to <br />assume an employer in this industry would only have to pay 73% of this amount ifit operated in <br />Paris. This is not a bad thing for Lamar County, as 73% of $46,600 is $34,018, which is slightly <br />above the area average wage. <br /> <br />Recommendations: There is no specific action the community needs to take regarding this <br />issue relative to economic development. <br /> <br />Labor Availability: <br /> <br />The number of workers available for hire within a marketplace is of concern to employers. In <br />very tight labor markets, when unemployment is extremely low, employers sometimes have <br />difficulty finding enough workers with the proper skills to employ. Under this situation, <br />employers usually have to pay a higher wage than normal to secure the workers needed. This <br />principle applies to the general workforce. <br /> <br />Primary industry employers typically pay a wage higher than the area average. As a result, these <br />employers usually do not have a problem finding enough people who want to work for them. <br />The problem is the "quality" of the worker. <br /> <br />Paris Economic Development Corporation <br /> <br />Page 23 <br />