North Carolina鈥檚 state government agencies are facing a major worker shortage. They鈥檙e looking to the legislature this year to increase salaries so they can better recruit and retain employees.
One of the hardest-hit areas for staff vacancies is a state Department of Agriculture veterinary lab in Raleigh. That鈥檚 where Dr. James Trybus oversees testing on dead farm animals 鈥� among others 鈥� to check for illnesses and diseases.
While the lab usually has three pathologists to run these tests, right now it only has one. The lab overall has an 18% vacancy rate.
And one of the agency鈥檚 satellite labs in Elkin, which serves the Triad and surrounding counties, has had to shut down entirely due to the shortage.
鈥淲e've lost both of our veterinarians in that role,鈥� Trybus said. 鈥淲e had to shut down necropsy services in that area. It's a poultry-dense area. We're always concerned about infectious diseases in the poultry industry, particularly avian influenza.鈥�
Trybus worries that could make it harder to catch the next outbreak of avian influenza, which caused problems in North Carolina last year. He鈥檇 like to fill the openings, but low salaries mean he鈥檚 gotten few qualified applicants.
It鈥檚 the same story down the hall where Daniel Gaines leads the agency鈥檚 food safety inspection program. It's his job to ensure the safety of manufactured foods as well as bakeries and seafood markets throughout the state. He鈥檚 losing inspectors to higher-paying jobs with the Federal Drug Administration.
鈥淲e do all the work, we do the same work that the FDA does,鈥� Gaines said. 鈥淏ut we don't get the same pay or at least not even close to the same pay. It's a real wide gap.鈥�
It takes time to train new food safety inspectors, and once they鈥檙e trained, they often leave for similar jobs that pay more.
In a recent presentation to legislators, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said he asked for funding in last year鈥檚 state budget to increase salaries for jobs where the same workers could earn more money elsewhere.
鈥淚 think we got a million dollars last year in salary adjustment, and I think I had asked for eight,鈥� he told lawmakers. 鈥淎nd I'm going to be frank with you: My first thought was, 'We got just enough money to piss off everybody.' And that's exactly what happened.鈥�
Airplane pilots working for the department got a raise, but their co-workers were left out.
鈥淚t made the mechanics feel that they didn't get a pay increase,鈥� Troxler said. 鈥淪o, my No. 1 mechanic and No. 2 mechanic walked out the front door of the hangar, went down three hangars, and took a job. The first one got $40,000 a year more; the second, $30,000.鈥�
Troxler asked legislators again this year to fund at least $8 million in salary increases.
Across North Carolina state government agencies, more than 23% of jobs are currently vacant. That鈥檚 up from about 12% before the pandemic. And last year the turnover rate was nearly 17%.
Lawmakers from both parties recognize it鈥檚 a problem they鈥檒l need to address in this year鈥檚 budget. But the question is how much the state can afford to spend.
Gov. Roy Cooper鈥檚 budget calls for giving all state workers a 5% raise this year, along with a bonus of at least $1,000. His plan also includes an additional $250 million to adjust salaries for jobs where the current pay doesn鈥檛 match the labor market.
Altogether, Cooper wants to spend more than $2 billion raising employee pay. Senate leader Phil Berger says the governor鈥檚 proposal is more than the state can afford.
鈥淲hat I would say is it鈥檚 probably not realistic given the reality of dollars that are available, the need to keep spending within certain confines,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know that it鈥檚 a realistic proposal.鈥�
House Speaker Tim Moore told 瓜神app that Cooper鈥檚 plan 鈥渃reates a budget hole and would result in tax increases.鈥� But he said that the House is 鈥渕oving forward with what we believe are very aggressive and generous raises that we can afford for teachers and state employees.鈥�
The State Employees Association of North Carolina, or SEANC, advocates for state workers. Executive director Ardis Watkins says Cooper鈥檚 proposal isn鈥檛 enough to solve the problem.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 even keep up with inflation,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, if it was a normal year, it wouldn鈥檛 be a raise that鈥檚 going to be competitive with other employers. With everything we鈥檙e experiencing, with a 23% vacancy rate, you鈥檝e already got employees doing the work of several people, almost everywhere. You鈥檝e got employees in some agencies who cannot take time off, time they鈥檝e earned.鈥�
Watkins says state workers used to be willing to earn less because they received government benefits. But those are less generous now because new employees won鈥檛 receive state health insurance after they retire.
While the vacancy rates are highest in the state鈥檚 prisons and in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Division of Motor Vehicles might be the place most people notice the worker shortage.
Visiting the DMV these days can require standing in line for hours or making an appointment three months in advance.
Tanika Williams supervises a driver鈥檚 license office in Raleigh. She says she鈥檚 constantly short-staffed, because workers are finding higher pay elsewhere.
鈥淚 have 14 stations,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淎nd right now today, I have five of us, but I have 14 stations.鈥�
That means Williams and her team often have to skip lunches or work past 5 p.m. to keep things moving.
鈥淚 do almost four jobs,鈥� she said. 鈥淚'm the supervisor, I do road tests, I service almost 50 people literally daily, and I handle the front. And I do all of that.鈥�
The DMV recently raised starting salaries for driver鈥檚 license examiners by $6,000 to about $40,000. But Commissioner Wayne Goodwin says that number needs to be closer to $50,000 to attract people.
鈥淭he greatest incentive for folks to join us is making sure that the salaries reflect what the labor market indicates is an appropriate salary,鈥� Goodwin said. 鈥淵ou know, for many of these positions, they are presently folks having to work second jobs, or they're working full time in restaurants and earning more doing that job than being a driver's license examiner, so we're losing out on some personnel who could help us.鈥�
He says full staffing is key to reducing wait times.
鈥淚f we were fully staffed across the state, every day, we'd be able to reach hundreds more customers,鈥� Goodwin said. 鈥淎nd you can just certainly, if you multiply that every month, we're losing out on thousands and thousands of customer interactions that we cannot do otherwise.鈥�
Over in the Department of Agriculture, Troxler says the staff shortage is only going to get worse.
鈥�25% of the employees in the Department of Ag are eligible for retirement within five years,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o not only are we having recruitment trouble, retention trouble, but now we're going to have a massive amount of people retiring in the department.鈥�
State House leaders plan to release the first draft of their budget proposal this week. That鈥檚 expected to pass in early April.
The Senate will then develop its own spending plan, likely in May, before Republican leaders in the two chambers create a compromise budget to send to Cooper. They鈥檙e optimistic that will happen before the new fiscal year begins July 1.
