Sponsored Content provided by Tom Gale - 2021 President, Cape Fear REALTORS®
As we read the news of the strong real estate market in our area and beyond, another important issue needs to also stay in the forefront – housing affordability. Cape Fear REALTORS® strongly supports the concept and provision of affordable housing for all income levels and calls on every community to address and provide equitable housing solutions for its residents.
Data shows that housing affordability needs to be viewed as a component of economic development, enhanced livability of a community, and an improvement to the quality of life. Therefore, policies should be adopted at all levels of government that encourage the production of affordable housing.
The U.S. Department of Labor has again issued a final rule on the computation of prevailing wage levels for high-skilled foreign workers. The rule is intended to replace a prevailing.
90th percentile
DOL’s taxonomy for the four wage levels is Level I “entry level,” Level II “qualified,” Level III “experienced,” and Level IV “fully competent.” Accordingly, the 35th percentile will be the entry-level wage under the four-tier wage structure. For a typical professional-level position (O Net Job Zone 4), entry level is for positions that require no more than a bachelor’s degree plus two years of experience. DOL’s existing formula for computing the appropriate wage level for a professional position increases the wage level by one step for each additional year of experience that an employer requires beyond two years. Thus, a professional position that requires a bachelor’s degree plus five years of experience (a midlevel professional role for many employers) will now require a salary at no less than the 90th percentile.
Another round of stimulus payments is part of Joe Biden’s plan to help the U.S. economy recover from damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the president-elect said.