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State Farm Steady Employment At Year End

State Farm HQ building
Ralph Weisheit
/
WGLT
Concerns over State Farm reorganization are subsiding, said the company.

In spite of community worries over the number and average pay of State Farm employees in Bloomington-Normal, the company said the number of jobs is closing the year steady.

State Farm's self-evaluation process caused significant worry among Twin City officials and citizens, amid stress and rumors among workers about the scope of the process.

State Farm said it's held employment steady in Bloomington-Normal over the course of a year of reorganization and significant reductions and additions. Company spokesman Joe Strupek said central Illinois employment will continue steady.

"Going through 2018 and 2018 is going to remain around 15,000. The distribution of employees has remained the same. The average salary, the percentage has increased for all levels, para-professionals, professionals, and for management," said Strupek.

Strupek did not directly address GLT questions whether the salary base grew more than the rate of inflation, but said State Farm has to pay a competitive wage.

"It aligns with an increase across the board because of the jobs themselves and how those jobs price in the marketplace, but also performance evaluations as they go," said Strupek.

He also said the number of executives based in the Twin Cities has remained steady for the last eight years.

Strupek said the company will continue an ongoing process of evaluating all of its units, but the pace of change will be slower for Bloomington-Normal.

Strupek said the buzz and anxiety in the community and among company worker is far less than during the height of the realignment implementation processes among various units in early and mid 2018.

He said the largest single chunk of State Farm workers remains in Bloomington-Normal and not the hubs in the south and western U.S.

You can also listen to the full interview:

181227_joe_strupek_state_farm.mp3
Listen to Charlie Schlenker's interview with Joe Strupek of State Farm Insurance.

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WGLT Senior Reporter Charlie Schlenker has spent more than three award-winning decades in radio. He lives in Normal with his family.