More Pay For Traditional Jobs

Pay is going up dramatically for traditional manufacturing jobs in one Midwest state. A survey by the Management Assn. of Illinois found that pay increases in 1998 for 20 traditional manufacturing jobs will all be at least 8%, with two of them -- assembly group leader and assembler -- over 20%. The reasons: a smaller labor pool and the need for workers with higher skill levels because of technology advances. Others jobs with double-digit pay increases in 1998: millwrights, machine setters, heat treaters, mold repairers and injection molding machine set-up operators. The three highest hourly pays of the 20 jobs studied: maintenance group leader, $19.14; maintenance electricians, $18.82; and tool, die and gage makers, $18.62. The only old-line manufacturing job that pays less than $10 per hour: punch press operator, $8.96.