The study shows that Iowa pays its state workers the best in the nation after the wages are adjusted at $70,458. That is more than $2,000 higher than the No. 2 state of California.

Illinois is ranked third at $65,343. Kansas’ adjusted salary level of $52,352 is ranked 21st. Kentucky is 42nd with an adjusted average wage of $46,768.

The analysis also address disparities within Missouri. It found that a statewide salary of $44,000 should be adjusted to $46,037 if it were to remain competitive in St. Louis. By contrast, that same pay could be lowered to $40,260 in rural Ripley County, located along the Arkansas border.

However, the consultants noted that a state law bars geographic differentials in compensation.

By agency, the Department of Corrections had the highest number of employees working for less than the market rate at 1,194. The study found the Missouri Department of Transportation had the fewest number of workers below the threshold among the state’s largest agencies.

The report also found that Missouri is out of step with the labor market when it comes to the time period it takes for workers to qualify for a full pension. The state currently requires a 10-year wait, while a 5-year vesting period for retirement benefits is more common.

“The state should reduce the ten-year vesting requirement because it is out of step with trends in the market,” the study notes. “The millennial generation has shown a willingness to change jobs often and typically places a much higher value on benefits that vest quickly and are transportable. Additionally, the ten year vesting creates a challenge in attracting `second career’ employees, who may be deterred by the ten-year requirement.”

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