As leaders claim economic boom times, some state workers decry 3% raise as 'a half a tank of gas'
After several years of stagnant wages, roughly eight out of 10 state employees will receive a raise under legislation passed in the final days of the 2019 session.
But while the Mississippi State Personnel Board finds state employees are paid, on average, $4,810 below market rate, employees will receive annual raises of no more than 3 percent. The average raise is $1,050, or roughly $40 per paycheck before taxes.
“It’s an insult to me, after 30 years of service, to get that type of raise,” said Clarise Martin, a 62-year-old client service representative at the Mississippi Department of Human Services office in Adams County. “All you can come to the table and offer me is 3 percent? Be real.”
The average salary of Mississippi state employees lags the pay in surrounding states and the pay raise approved during the 2019 session will fall far short of eliminating that gap.
Read more: https://mississippitoday.org/2019/04/10/as-leaders-claim-economic-boom-times-some-state-workers-decry-3-percent-raise-as-a-half-a-tank-of-gas/