(Spencer)– The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation has released the findings of a recent study into fringe benefits offered by area employers.
The information was compiled by the Regional Research and Analysis Bureau, a division of Iowa Workforce Development, which worked with the Employer’s Council of Iowa to survey a random sample of employers in the region. 485 businesses were contacted; 252 responses were received.
According to the findings, 63.5 percent of employers in the Corridor region offer a fringe benefit package in addition to wage compensation; 8.4 percent of the region’s employers offer benefits packages that are union-negotiated.
More than 50 percent of the region’s employers offer health or medical insurance; nearly 100 percent of them to their full-time employees and over 15 percent offer it to part-time employees.
Corridor officials say those statistics are higher than those reported in a similar study in 2006 where 77 percent provided health or medical insurance to their full-time employees and 9.5 percent offered it to their part-time employees.
Officials say another significant difference between the 2006 and 2010 study is the amount of total payroll applied toward health or medical insurance–the average is now 18.9 percent…compared to 9.9 percent in 2006. Officials say that’s likely due to the increase cost of health insurance, as many have experienced increases in premium costs the past few years, as well as the percentage of the premium employers are paying.
Corridor officials say the fact that so many employers in the region are offering a fringe benefits package will help in retaining and attracting employees to the region.
