Thursday, August 27, 1998

New employer raises issue of workforce size

Tuesday's announcement that The Colonel's International Inc. will open a manufacturing facility in Abilene as early as January at the old Aileen's site and employ hundreds of workers - perhaps up to 500 after four years - is certainly good news to stand up and applaud. The economic benefits to the whole community are evident upon only minimal reflection.

News that the vehicle accessories manufacturer is coming to town follows decisions by several retailers to enter the Abilene market. Despite current economic hardships in agribusiness and oil and gas, grocers, merchants and theater operators have shown a liking for the city.

Each announcement of a new or expanded company, however, drives home the necessity to make sure Abilene has an available, well-trained workforce. With low unemployment (3.9 percent), finding new workers isn't as simple as posting a "jobs available" sign. New businesses can attract new workers to the community, particularly from the Big Country where some towns have been shrinking in recent years. But the magnet of job attraction is affected by various complex factors, including wage levels and cost of living.

We often brag - and rightly so - that Abilene is a great place to live and raise a family. We tout our low crime rate, the caring community spirit that manifests itself in exceptional volunteer efforts, the moral atmosphere engendered by our churches and church-relates universities, the city's award-winning beautification projects, cultural achievements that surpass our size and locale.

The bottom line

Such qualities well deserve praise and are impossible to put a price on. But for a job seeker considering the community, the bottom line is how good a value is Abilene, dollar for dollar? What quality of life does a week's wages provide?

A guest column Sunday on the Readers' Forum page voiced the common complaint that wages in Abilene are too low. That complaint has been raised so often and for so long that it's frequently dismissed out of hand as old news.

Wages, of course, must be seen in relation to expenses. The usual response to charges about Abilene's low pay scale is that the cost of living here is also low, an assertion backed up by figures from the American Chamber of Commerce Research Association that consistently show Abilene's cost of living index running about 6 percent or 7 percent below the national average. The latest ACCRA statistics, from June 1998, rate Abilene at 93.7 percent.

Comparison figures

When you glance at New York City at 228.5 percent and Boston at 139.9 percent and Los Angeles at 115.9 percent, Abilene looks pretty good. Compared with other cities in Texas, our cost of living is in the same range but a little less flattering. Lubbock is lower at 92.2 percent. Amarillo and San Angelo are both at 91.1, Wichita Falls at 91.2. Waco is an even 90, Midland is 90.6, and Odessa is down at 89.9. Even the Fort Worth-Arlington-Weatherford area beats Abilene at 90.2.

Determining where to live and work is an intensely individual decision. Some choose a community for what's not there - heavy traffic, crime, stress. Others look for intangible positives, such as friendliness and sense of community.

Abilene businessmen need to stop and consider occasionally - and an announcement like this is a good time - whether the contents of the weekly pay envelope given their workers is a positive or negative factor for the community's future growth.