Kansas City, Kan. — Last September, the National Bureau of Economic Research declared the recession officially ended in June of 2009. Its effects, however, can still be felt at many organizations across the country. The 2010 BenchmarkPro survey results found 46.3 percent of companies reduced or eliminated benefits in order to cope with hardships imposed on them by the recession.
Other methods were also utilized as the results found 32.8 percent of organizations initiated hiring freezes. Nearly 28 percent of survey respondents used permanent layoffs, affecting 9.7 percent of their workforce. Budgets were frozen at 20.4 percent of organizations, compared to implementing salary freezes or delaying increases which was used by 10 percent of companies.
“The economic condition created by the recession has left many companies in a very difficult position,” said Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys, the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. “Organizations strive to find ways to cut costs without impacting employees, but often times it is unavoidable.”
Variation in the methods used to overcome financial shortfalls varied by region as 26.7 percent of companies in the Southeast used budget freezes. Organizations in the West and South Central followed at 20.9 and 20.3 percent, respectively. In the Midwest, 19.7 percent of companies surveyed experienced budget freezes. Organizations in the Northeast employ this method the least, 17.7 percent.
Techniques to cut costs also differ by industry as 62.7 percent of banking and finance organizations reduced bonuses and incentives. This was followed by companies in insurance at 38.4 percent and hospitality at 34.5 percent. More than 20 percent of manufacturing employers used bonus and incentive reductions to stabilize costs, while it was used the least by not-for-profit employers, 15 percent.
About the Survey
BenchmarkPro 2010 contains cross-industry data on over 300 benchmark job titles. Data was collected from nearly 4,000 employers reporting for almost 15,000 locations across the country. The results provide a comprehensive summary of pay data and pay practices with an effective date of March 1, 2010.
Compdata Surveys is the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. Thousands of U.S. organizations provide data each year ensuring the reliability of our results. Compdata Surveys has been providing comprehensive data at affordable prices to organizations from coast to coast since 1988. For further information about their compensation and benefits surveys, contact Michelle Willis at (800) 300-9570.
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This press release was distributed through PR Web by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.