Brier Dudley's Blog
Brier Dudley offers a critical look at technology and business issues affecting the Northwest.
E-mail Brier|
206.515.5687
|
Follow Brier on Twitter|
Microsoft Pri0 blog|
Subscribe | Blog Home
October 17, 2007 3:48 PM
Clarity on Microsoft's average pay
Posted by Brier Dudley
I should have used a better word in Monday's column when I described the average pay at Microsoft.
In the column, I said it's no wonder the local housing market held strong for so long, since salaries at the company average more than $145,000.
That figure came from Dick Conway's study of Microsoft's economic effect on the region. It said annual labor earnings at Microsoft averaged $145,000 in 2004, not including stock option income. If you count options, "average Microsoft employee compensation came to $188,900."
A lot of Microsoft employees e-mailed me and asked about the figure, presumably since they're making less, so I went back to Conway and asked for more detail.
Conway said the "annual labor earnings" include salaries, wages and "non-wage benefits" such as bonuses, insurance, retirement contributions and healthcare.
Microsoft wages and salaries alone averaged $115,500 that year, Conway said. That's based on data Microsoft gave him: In 2004, the company paid salaries and wages of $3,262,137,743 to 28,237 employees.
For comparison, wages and salaries throughout the state's software industry averaged $104,700 that year.
I should have said compensation instead of salary, although it's a little tricky because compensation would include stock options and stock awards. The company shifted from options to awards, and awards can be counted as annual labor earnings while options are counted separately.
The point was, and remains, that the housing market has benefited from Microsoft's pay.
Apologies for any confusion. If employees read the column and demanded a raise, I hope the conversations were productive. The local economy's counting on you....
Mar 18, 08 - 12:00 AM
SourceLabs launches open-source support suite, new Linux play
Mar 17, 08 - 12:16 PM
Amazon pre-announces Microsoft's Vista SP1 ship date
Mar 17, 08 - 09:32 AM
A vision of the Web services future Microsoft is developing
Mar 14, 08 - 02:15 PM
MySpace goodies coming to WSJ, CTO says
Mar 13, 08 - 04:43 PM
Nanaimo gaga for Google

nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment

- Flags were key link to cop slaying, bombings
- Suspect shot as city mourns slain officer
- Briefs | Soccer: New Mexico suspends hair-pulling player Elizabeth Lambert
- Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
- Huskies suffer another heartbreaking loss to UCLA
- McGinn pulling away as late ballots come in
- How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
- Using anti-shooter tactics, civilian Army police officer brought down gunman
- 3 Cascade Mountain passes close due to snow; more rain, wind expected Sunday
- Heavy snow in Cascades shuts down roads
- Suspect shot as city mourns slain officer
- Flags were key link to cop slaying, bombings
- 10 ways to take control of your health
- The birth of 'Grunge,' in photos by Michael Lavine
- How do innovators think?
- Danny Westneat | Lee the Horse Logger found slow wagon shrank tumor
- 10 investing missteps to avoid
- Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
- Guest columnist | Cut the South Carolina jokes, Seattle. Get ready to compete
- Consortium on verge of owning Eastside railway land

March
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |

Video
Demo of the Week: TeachStreet.com
Share your thoughts!
Gadgets and games | Fun stuff I've written about lately includes Apple's iPhone, Hewlett-Packard's HDX laptop and Microsoft's Halo3. Also on the radar are new digital video boxes such as the Tivo HD and the Vudu.






