Low wages continue to haunt El Paso workers

By Vic Kolenc / El Paso Times
Posted: 09/02/2013 12:30:37 AM MDT photo to


The average El Paso construction wage is 32 percent below... (Vanessa Monsisvais / El Paso Times)

Reporter
Vic Kolenc
El Paso's wages continue to lag well behind the nation and state and many other metro areas, new federal data show.
In 2012, El Paso's average hourly wage for all occupations was $17.09 per hour, or $35,550 per year --more than 22 percent below the national average of $22.01 per hour, or $45,790 per year, and almost 19 percent below the statewide average of $20.97 per hour, according to a new report, released just days before this Labor Day holiday, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Even Las Cruces outdid El Paso in wages. The smaller city about 45 miles north of El Paso had an average hourly wage of $18.79, or $39,080 per year, in 2012. That average
wage is 9 percent better than El Paso. Austin's average was $22.64 per hour, Phoenix is $21.75 per hour, Albuquerque's $20.69 per hour, and San Antonio is $19.59 per hour.
"The simple fact is wages in El Paso have been below the U.S. average for a number of years," said James Howard Jr., an economist at the bureau's Dallas regional office. "You can look several years back. I looked at 2003, and El Paso wages were 22.7 percent below the U.S. average.
"In order to close the gap, you need to see the (El Paso) wage rate gain faster than the U.S., and that has not been the case," Howard said. "There's no quick answer as to why it is this way."

Tom Fullerton, an economics professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, said El Paso's wage troubles can be traced back to at least the mid 1970s when a large number of unskilled workers migrated from Mexico to El Paso and the area's high school dropout rates were above average.
"The bottom line is it (low wages) hurts the standard of living for most El Pasoans," Fullerton said. "It also, from a more practical perspective, places a lot of pressure on property tax rates."
The lower than average wages also hamper business opportunities for retailers and others, Fullerton noted.
The emphasis in recent years by various government and private groups in El Paso to increase high school graduation rates and get more El Pasoans to pursue college degrees should help improve wages in the long term, Fullerton said. Recent improvements to local roads and other infrastructure also will improve worker productivity, which should also help raise wages in the future, he said.
Not all El Paso wages are below national averages. Some El Paso jobs requiring advanced degrees and high skills were above or near the national average. For example, the average wage for an El Paso psychiatrist, atop the local wage list, was $108.35 per hour, or $225,370 per year -- 27 percent above the national average.
At the bottom of the El Paso list was fast-food restaurant cook with an average wage of $8.16 per hour, or $16,970 per year. The national average in this category is $9.03 per hour.
El Paso wages were lower in 20 of 22 major occupational groups. Only two groups were above national average wages: Protective services, including police, fire, and Border Patrol officers, with wages 7 percent above the national average; and community and social service workers, including school and other types of counselors, which had wages 3 percent above the national average.
However, neither of those wage differences are considered significantly different than the national average, said Howard, the Bureau of Labor Statistics economist.
The construction industry had the most-significant wage differences.
El Paso construction job wages averaged $14.62 per hour last year -- 32 percent below the national average of $21.61 per hour in the federal report, and also well below the Texas average of $18.12 per hour.
Larry Trejo, executive vice president of the El Paso branch of the Associated General Contractors of America, said an over supply of labor, and the fact Texas doesn't require union membership for construction trades as in some states, including New Mexico, play parts in lowering wages here.
"We have a surplus of people who can work in construction. Also, being on the border, we get a lot of people coming to us (from Mexico) with some skills, and they accept lower wages, and that depresses the market," Trejo said. "All of this is market driven."
Two other occupational groups had huge wage differences: Computer, which includes software and Web developers, had wages 28 percent below the national average; and sales-related jobs, including cashiers and insurance agents, had wages 26 percent below the national average.
Rolando Pablos, chief executive officer of the Borderplex Alliance, a private, El Paso-based, regional economic development group formed late last year, said El Paso's low wage numbers are disappointing.
"We need to work together immediately to begin to build an upward trend in these figures. We can get there," Pablos said in an email. "The way we do this? Three words: Education, education, education."
A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas affirms Pablos' and other El Paso leaders' view that education is a key to raising wages along the border.
However, the "border wage gap" article published last week also reported that even with college degrees, Hispanics on the Texas-Mexico border earn less than non-Hispanics with college degrees.
Non-Hispanic college graduates along the border earn an average $71,000 annually and an average $50,300 for Hispanic college graduates, reported research analyst Christina English.
Some Hispanic workers on the border may be in the country illegally and some may have trouble getting their foreign degrees recognized by U.S. employers, both of which may depress their wages, English wrote.
Low English fluency also is a factor in lowering wages, she reported.
"Research has shown limited English proficiency puts certain jobs out of reach, with the least fluent working in relatively low-paying jobs requiring fewer skills," English wrote.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421

Average hourly wages in 2012 for selected jobs in El Paso, and national average:

Psychiatrist: $108.35, $85.35
Pediatrician: $98.96, $80.59
Lawyer: $60.77, $62.93
Sales manager: $56.44, $57.68
Mechanical Engineer: $38.24, $40.75
Computer systems analyst: $36.04, $40.29
Registered nurse: $30.03, $32.66
Police, sheriff's officer: $26.19, $27.78
Accountant: $24.55, $34.15
Elementary school teacher:* $50,390, $56,130
Chef: $20.32, $22.39
Tool & die maker: $20.01, $23.31
Electrician: $18.20, $25.50
Nursing assistant: $10.53, $12.32
Receptionist: $10.27, $13.00
Factory assembler: $9.69, $13.98
Cashier: $8.61, $9.79
Waiter: $8.32, $9.95
Fast-food cook: $8.17, $9.03
*Only annual salary available
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2012 report.

Average wages in selected cities in 2012:
Denver: $24.50 an hour, $50,960 a year
San Diego: $24.41, $50,770
Austin: $22.64, $47,080
Dallas-Fort Worth: $22.18, $46,130
Phoenix: $21.75, $45,240
Albuquerque: $20.69, $43,040
Tucson: $20.45, $42,530
Oklahoma City: $19.98, $41,550
San Antonio: $19.59, $40,760
Memphis: $19.56, $40,690
Las Vegas: $19.90, $41,400
Las Cruces: $18.79, $39,080
El Paso: $17.09, $35,550
Laredo: $16.87, $35,090Lubbock: $16.72, $34,770

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2012.

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