Governor Ralph DLG. Torres and Lt. Governor Arnold I. Palacios, through the Department of Commerce’s Central Statistics Division, would like to thank all the businesses and employers who have completed their Prevailing Wage Study (PWS) survey and request that those who have not completed their survey, do so before the deadline this Friday, July 10, 2020.
The PWS survey began on June 11 and was set to close the data collection phase on June 30, however, after assessing the project’s progress, the PWS Team decided to extend the deadline to July 10, giving businesses and employers more time to complete the survey.
As of July 6, a total of 536 employers in the private sector have reported on 8,637 employees. In the 2019 PWS, 937 employers with over 19,000 employees participated.
“As we assess the many challenges we have in our economy, Governor Torres and I can’t stress how important this type of data contributes to our short term and long term economic recovery plans – we once again ask for our private sector partners for their assistance in completing the 2020 PWS survey and we thank them in advance for their understanding and support especially during these trying times,” said Lt. Governor Palacios.
Secretary of Commerce Mark Rabauliman emphasizes the importance of completing the survey and encourages businesses and employers to go online and complete the PWS survey questionnaire before this Friday’s deadline.
“The participation of every employer in this year’s PWS will ensure that an hourly wage rate from within the CNMI can be derived for the maximum number of Standard Occupation Code (SOC) Detailed Titles and made available for employers when applying for a CW-1 visa. As you well know, when there is no published prevailing hourly wage rate issued by the Governor for an SOC title, employers will have to use a wage amount from Guam or the US Department of Labor National Occupational Employment Statistics, whose wage amounts are usually much higher than the CNMI’s,” said Secretary Rabauliman.
Business can access the portal online at http://cnmidata.commerce.gov.mp/
For questions or inquiries about the Prevailing Wage Project, please call (670) 322-3005 / 3007 or email cnmi.csd@commerce.gov.mp.
# # #
