05-04-2023, 05:53 PM
(05-04-2023, 04:58 PM)KevinL Wrote: The issue with firefighters is that every single one works for a public entity; there is no private equivalent of a firefighting service, so there's no way to see what a competitive salary would be. This applies to other specialized positions like police.
Bus drivers, however, can be found working for both public and private entities. It's much easier to see what a competitive salary is and what direction that job market is going in.
That’s true. However, price comparison is not the only way to evaluate what the market price is. If there is a massive oversupply of something, then the price is too high, and if there is a massive shortage, the price is too low. So if every job opening attracts hundreds of qualified applicants, it’s probably the case that the salary could be cut significantly without affecting fire safety, and there would also be the additional benefit of less work for the hiring team to wade through all those resumés. Similarly, if it’s hard to hire for a position, one possible fix is to increase the offered wages.