The increase was about 22% for all of Virginia during the same period, based on the company’s online job postings database, which is updated daily.
“We’re also seeing it appear in salary offers,” said Patrick Clapp, economist for Chmura Economics and Analytics.
About 2% of ads for auto mechanics offered signing bonuses, according to the company’s research.
While 2% doesn’t sound like a lot, it still represented four times the number of listings offering signing bonuses compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Nationally, the demand for automotive technicians has nearly doubled in the past year – from 136,503 in 2020 to 258,000 in 2021, according to the TechForce Foundation, a nonprofit organization backed by industry groups. ‘automobile industry.
Last year, demand exceeded supply by almost three to one, and it is now estimated at five to one.
The J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College commissioned a study from the Southeastern Institute of Research in late 2020 that showed a need for 2,539 automotive technicians over the next seven years in the Richmond area.
Wages also seem to be on the rise.
Median wages offered in online advertisements during the fourth quarter in the Richmond area ranged from about $17 per hour to $23 per hour for jobs such as service technician, diesel mechanic and supervisor. maintenance, according to Chmura research.
