The EQ Connect 18 conference was a success on many levels. From the speakers, to the attendees getting JobsEQ FIT certified, to the Salamander Resort, we had numerous epiphanies. The unexpected snow was the biggest epiphany of them all! Yes, Virginia, there are still epiphanies! As a special treat, Reilly, the Chief Data Dog, was available throughout the conference for selfies with our attendees! It was quite the social media hit!
If your accounting degree landed you a job as a financial analyst in the Richmond metro area, Virginia, do you know what that gets you? Well, for starters, your entry-level wages are somewhere around $55,000 per year. The average worker earns $83,000 per year and experienced workers earn $111,000 per year. About 45% of all accountants in the Richmond metro area have a bachelor’s degree while 38% have their masters.
The Midwest is where a typical 250-worker chemical manufacturer should locate if it is in an expansion mode, per LaborEQ. The Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Indiana metropolitan statistical area has a slight advantage over the next three sites shown in the table below due to its lower cost of living and an impressive pipeline of new graduates to fill jobs in that industry.
Are you wondering what area of study your recent college-bound freshmen will choose? Maybe you can help by giving them something to aim for! And let them know where they can find a job once they’ve earned that degree, as some people may like warmer weather while others prefer cooler climates. In fact, providing information about the wages they could earn with that potential degree might be the best advise you can give them as they prepare for their upcoming campus experience!
A tortilla-manufacturing firm is in a high-growth phase of their business cycle. They are looking for an MSA to locate their expanding operations with an expected 250 employees. Where should they begin their search? What are the key attributes around their geolocation decision? Let’s start with labor availability.
According to LaborEQ™, they should give the following regions a serious look:
| Region | Labor Availability |
|---|---|
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA MSA | 99% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA | 100% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI MSA | 100% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ MSA | 97% |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA | 99% |
| Source: LaborEQ | |
The top 3 occupations needed for a firm in this industry are:
Source: JobsEQ®
Wages are another important consideration. They are affected by the cost of living in a region. So how competitive are the MSAs where the most bakers live and work today? If we consider the wages and regional cost of living for the top 10 regions in the nation that employ the most bakers, Houston has the lowest annual average wage for bakers, $22,100 with a related cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 92.9 where the U.S. COLA equals 100. In other words, the COLA in Houston is 8% lower than the average of the nation. Home values are an important component of COLA. And for regions employing the most bakers, Houston’s home values are certainly more affordable for employees that work in tortilla manufacturing.
| US Rank | Region | Employment | Avg. Annual Wages | Cost of Living Index | Median House Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA | 12,810 | $28,000 | 154.5 | $400,000 |
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA | 8,707 | $25,100 | 153.6 | $454,200 |
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI MSA | 6,982 | $26,300 | 102.9 | $217,300 |
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA | 4,083 | $23,800 | 97.4 | $151,900 |
| 5 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA | 3,946 | $29,200 | 136.9 | $363,600 |
| 6 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA | 3,751 | $22,100 | 92.9 | $144,000 |
| 7 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA MSA | 3,740 | $23,200 | 99.9 | $167,400 |
| 8 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL MSA | 3,581 | $24,300 | 112.3 | $188,700 |
| 9 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 3,489 | $28,300 | 108.3 | $237,600 |
| 10 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA MSA | 3,229 | $30,200 | 204.5 | $592,000 |
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