The Rest of The Story on $20.00 Per Hour Wages

The Flaws in the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Hardin County - Annual Average 2004 by Department of Labor

It appears their data is reasonable, but their computations are flawed.

Manufacturing Industry Hardin County

Reported Totals vs Data Reflected Totals

Average Number Of Reporting Units - - - - - 43 vs. 28
Average Annual Employment - - - - - - - - 2,089 vs. 966
Total Wages - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - $84,470,637 vs. $25,135,328
Average Annual Wage - - - - - - - - -- - $40,431 vs. $26,020
Average Weekly Wage - - - - - - - - - - - - $778 vs. $500
Taxable Wages - - - - - - - - - - - -- - $17,6926,646 vs. $8,162,599
Total Premiums Paid - - - - - - - - - -- - $680,000 vs. $349,976
Average Premium Rate - - - - - - - - -- - - 3.86 vs. - -

Per Hour Wage (52 wk-40 hr/wk) $19.45 vs. $12.51

The Questions:

Why would anyone repeatedly base their representations on obviously flawed information?

Why hasn’t anyone at Team Hardin County ever questioned the representations of these obviously flawed totals?

Where, What and Who are these 43 Reporting Manufacturing Units in Hardin County.

Think about it.

These are the folks who we have been paying to oversee our industrial and manufacturing facilities and assets. Go look at their web site. Listed 7 valid manufacturing companies. Who are the other 36? Hasn’t it never crossed any responsible persons mind to say, "Say What?"

Fact: There can be no excuse for misquoting our average manufacturing wages and claiming that Hardin County has one of the highest average manufacturing wage in the state. It shouldn’t take a lot effort to qualify their facts, when they are the Joint Economic and Community Development Board for Hardin County, by law.

Fact: It is not beneficial in our recruiting efforts to attract manufactures to locate in Hardin County by claiming to have "one of the highest average manufacturing wages in the state," even if it were true. Can you say, Duh?