The labor market is tight here and elsewhere in the state. Crawley used Austin burger-flipping jobs as an example of how tight labor markets should create upward pressure on wages. Job creation in Abilene is running at a brisk pace. So one would expect wages to increase. The number of applicants for a job vacancy is proportional to the wage offered, Crawley said.
Abilene employers say they are offering more to get suitable applicant pools.
Crawley said the local discrepancy between wages and cost of living could be a natural phenomenon. To what degree, if any, Abilenians are getting shorted is open to debate. Convincing arguments can be made on either side. But while some feel wages are suppressed, few will say so publicly. And they hope economists are right when theory says wages will go up under current conditions.