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...10-Year
Summary
...Terminology
...Survey
Form-Current
...Survey
Form-Prior to 2004
...Tabulations:
FELS
Wage & Benefit Survey
Terminology
Explanation of Terms Used in Survey Reports (from 2004, for pervious year's reports click here)
As an aid to reading the survey reports, below is an explanation of the terms used.
Wage Reports:
Beginning with 2004 survey respondents were asked to provide their wage ranges, both the lowest and highest rates paid to employees in each type of job, rather than simply the job average requested in previous years. The summary tables show the overall average, the average low and high, and the absolute low and high wage rates reported for each job. N is the number of respondents providing data on a given job, and n is the number who report paying a single rate (no difference between lowest and highest) for the job. S.D. is the the standard deviation of respondents' range midpoints (average of their lowest and highest wages) for the job. The smaller the "S.D.," the closer to the average that reporting farms tend to pay. Rates reported by 95% of respondents fall within two times the S.D. of (above and below) the average.
Differences between the format of the reports beginning in 2004 and the reports in prior years reflect changes in the survey content. Each Job Title was defined on the form (see page 2) so that survey participants could enter wage rates relative to similar sets of duties.
Benefit Reports:
Changes in the survey form (beginning in 2004) affect the meaning and year-to-year comparability of results shown in the benefits section. While check boxes for both "yes" and "no" responses were included in previous surveys, respondents could only indicate "yes" this year, and the standard for an affirmative response was clarified to "received by more than half of employees without their having to co-pay more than 25% of the cost." The portion of replies with a "yes" for each benefit was calculated in previous years considering a base (denominator) of only those who checked either of the two boxes, i.e., ignoring those who left the item blank. Because, starting in 2004, the portion is calculated in relation to all N respondents in the tabulation group, including both those who would have left the item blank and those who would have explicitly checked "no," the "%providing" figures this year tend to be lower.
Workers' Compensation Insurance Premium Expense Reports:
The reports show the percentage increase [current premium minus previous premium] divided by [previous premium], considering only respondents who report both previous and current year premiums. N is number of such respondents.
We hope you find the survey results helpful to you. Any suggestions to improve this service are welcomed.
Explanation of Terms
Used in Survey Reports (prior to 2004, for 2004 reports click
here)
As an aid to reading the survey tabulations, below is an explanation of the column headings:
* JOB TITLES - Each job title was defined so that survey participants could enter wage rates relative to a uniform job definition. See sample survey on next page for job definitions.
* RATE/ - The "Rate/" column indicates the method of pay--either by the hour or a monthly salary.
* AVERAGE - The "Average" column equals the arithmetic mean of the replies.
* LOWEST & HIGHEST - These columns indicate the lowest and the highest values reported.
* STDEV - The standard deviation (STDEV) measures how closed individual wage rate responses are to the "Average". A small "STDEV" means that more reporting farms pay wages closer to the "Average" than when the "STDEV" is larger.
* REPLIES - This indicates the number of responses reported for each job title.
In the benefits section, benefits are reported as a percentage of "Yes" responses to each of the questions by year-round and seasonal employment. The column "Number" indicates the number of "yes" responses or in the case of "Ave. Number Paid Holidays", the average number of holidays.
We hope you find the survey results helpful to you. Any suggestions to improve this service are welcomed.
