BISMARCK, ND – A recent study published by the Center for Governmental Research showed North Dakota ranking last in the nation in average pay per state employee at $33,895, but a state human resources official says that ranking doesn’t tell the whole story.
“An overall comparison of average salary is pretty baseless,” said Ken Purdy, Classification and Compensation Manager with the State of North Dakota’s Human Resources Management Services. “It’s not very valid. It depends on the makeup of the workforce, and the employees at various levels. Throwing out a blanket number like that, in a business sense, isn’t very helpful. The true measure in trying to price your employees is a more direct job-to-job comparison of salaries to competing employees.”
According to Purdy, overall the state has an acceptable turn over rate. “We’ve been hanging in around 8%, which in and of itself isn’t particularly high, but what we find is that some areas we have areas we have higher turnover.” Quantifying what challenges may exist for hiring isn’t easy. The state’s hiring is “very decentralized,” according to Purdy and that no central database of applicants per job is kept.
Purdy says that in job-to-job comparisons North Dakota does often rank below comparable private sector positions. “We do generally measure out on the bottom end of our comparisons in many occupations,” he said. “We do struggle in some areas, and we do ok in other areas. It’s an overall supply and demand thing.”
One thing exacerbating that supply and demand problem has been the oil boom which has lured many workers away from state employment. “The oil boom has been a nightmare,” said Purdy noting that many of skills and qualifications sought in the oil fields, such as commercial drivers licenses, are common among state employees.
