The Wichita Eagle Kansas blue-collar workers are spending fewer hours on the job and getting smaller paychecks than a year ago, according to a new statewide study. The figures include base pay and overtime.
Experts say it's too early to tell whether it's a blip or the beginning of a trend.
But they did say that the difference in pay is related to the number of people working in manufacturing jobs. And this November, the state had about 213,000 manufacturing workers, up from 211,000 last year. She said some companies that had reduced their work forces through buyouts and early retirements in recent years are hiring again. The new employees are generally younger and less experienced, and thus earn lower wages, she said. Controlling overtime is a way to substantially reduce costs without having to take more disruptive actions such as layoffs, she said.