State employers say wages to rise 3.6 percent in

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percent statewide in 2009, according to a survey of 619 employers bythe . The report, released Sept. 19, was the organization’s 30th annualk survey of employers onwhat they’re planning for wage increasews or decreases. The projected increases are 0.1 percentg lower than the 2008 wage forecastof 3.7 “Even with an economy that is challenging both nationally and statewide — our survey indicates that Colorado employersa are continuing to project wage increasee in 2009 that are above the Denvetr inflation rate,” said Michael Severns, president of the Mountai States Employers Council, in a statement.
For the sixtn year in a row, Colorado’s oil and gas employerz are projecting the largest salaru raises among the 13 market sectors in the survey reflecting the rapid rise ofthe state’s energy Oil and gas companies said they plannef to raise wages an averagw of 5.1 percent in 2009, which while abover the state average, is beloqw the 6.7 percent increase they projected for 2008. Thoser companies are scrambling for workerx because so many left the industry when it spent yearsa at a low ebb in the 1980sand 1990s. “It’s still a growinv industry,” said Bob Morrison, head of recruitmentg and planning forthe U.S.
divisio of Canadian oil and gascompanty (NYSE: ECA), which has its U.S. headquarterzs in Denver. “There’s a very large demand for folks with oil and gas he said. “The salary increases are indicative of the demandc for talent both within Colorado and Not only are we competingwithin Colorado, we’re competinb in Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahomaq and Louisiana.” At the start of the year, EnCanaw expected to hire about 380 people in the United States, Morrisom said. But with the U.S. division growing so rapidly, EnCana’a already hired 350, and expects the year-end total to be around 450 or 500, Morrison said.
Of the 350 hiref so far, 225 are eithert Denver-based or Colorado-based, EnCana spokesmajn Doug Hock said. “We have a strongert need for talent,” Morriso said. “It’s across the board, but it’s particularly technica l people, engineers, geoscientists, land negotiators as well as ourfieldx people, lease operators and technicians. Everyonde plays a vital role.” After the oil and gas mining companies reported that they expect to givethe next-largestt salary increases for 2009, at 4.5 percent. But the surveg also reflected the nation’s troubled economy.
Five perceny of employers surveyed saidthey didn’t expect to raiss wages at all in 2009, an increase from 4 percentt last year. The construction industrt ranked last for2009 projections, reflectiny ongoing problems in the housintg industry. Construction employers said they expecteed to raisewages 2.7 percent in 2009, down from 3.1 percenf projected for 2008, according to the