OAKLAND, Calif. — The majority of small and mid-sized firms in the San Francisco Bay Area are lifting hiring and salary freezes that many imposed during the past two years, according to the annual compensation survey conducted by CompAnalysis, Inc.

"Because firms with less than 500 employees are considered key drivers of any economic recovery, these numbers are a good sign for the local economy," said Shari Dunn, managing principal of CompAnalysis. "The net job gain expectations are back to the 2007 levels and may approach the 2006 levels if this positive trend continues."

The new report indicates that 34 percent of the employers surveyed added staff in the first half of 2010, compared to 25 percent in the first half of 2009. During the second half of this year, 46 percent plan to add staff, compared to only 25 percent for the same period last year. Only 17 percent reduced staff in the first half of 2010, compared to 33 percent last year.

Dunn noted that pay in the Bay Area is 20 percent higher than the national average, according to a recent U.S. Bureau of Labor study. "This means that your salaries may not be as competitive as you think, if you are an employer who relies on national salary surveys or Internet compensation data," she added.

Among the other findings of the survey are these:

• The top human resources concern is health care inflation, with 36 percent ranking this as No. 1, compared to 27 percent last year and 17 percent the year before. The second major concern is tight salary budgets, listed by 25 percent of respondents this year, compared to 33 percent last year and 18 percent in 2008.


• The average employee-paid contribution toward medical insurance is 86 percent of the cost for a single employee and 63 percent of the cost of a family policy for coverage in a health maintenance organization. It is 84 percent of the total cost for a single employee and 62 percent of the cost of a family policy for a preferred provider plan. These are similar ratios to last year's survey.


• The average monthly health insurance premium is $442 for a single employee in an HMO and $521 in a PPO; for a family, $1,327 in an HMO and $1,592 in a PPO.


• Approximately 25 percent of those surveyed offer Health Savings Accounts.


• Fifty-nine percent have separate vacation and sick leave programs, while 41 percent combine vacation and sick leave into "paid time off" programs.


• Some kind of retirement plan is offered by 96 percent of the survey participants.

"Most of our clients feel the worst is over," Dunn said. "They expect employee hiring and pay levels to continue to improve and to reach prerecession levels within the next 12 to 18 months."

The 197-page 2010 report covers 168 employers with a total of 66,615 employees in the 11 Bay Area counties. It includes specific local pay rates for 98 core job classifications across a broad range of industries including consumer goods, manufacturing, technology, banking, health care, professional services, government, education, social services and arts and cultural organizations. This is the sixth year that CompAnalysis has conducted the survey.

CompAnalysis is an independent compensation and performance management consulting firm located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 1980 it has worked nationally with more than 800 diverse clients from a broad variety of industries. The company specializes in designing pay and performance management plans for all types of employers.

Additional information is available at www.compensation.com or by calling 510-763-3774.

Copies of the Survey Report may be ordered at www.salarysurveys.com.

Contact:

Shari Dunn, Managing Principal
sdunn@companalysis.com
510-763-3774 ext. 102

Rita Haronian, Survey Director
rharonian@companalysis.com
510-763-3774 ext. 100