Report cites higher pay for manufacturing jobs in state

The average non-degreed manufacturing worker makes $20.05 an hour in Colorado compared with $17.48 an hour for other workers, according to a report issued Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

That figure would mean an annual wage difference of $5,345.60 for the usual 2,080 hours of full-time work per year, according to the report. Manufacturing jobs make up 5.6 percent of total state employment in Colorado, which the report ranked 41st in the nation by share of manufacturing jobs. In raw numbers, Colorado ranks 32nd in manufacturing jobs with 132,800, it said.

The institute is a nonprofit that advocates for…