Jefferson City – April 10, 2023, is the deadline for objecting to the Division of Labor Standards’ prevailing wage rates. Each year, Missouri's prevailing wage rates are determined based on information provided through Contractor's Wage Surveys. These surveys were submitted electronically or in paper form to the Division of Labor Standards by Jan. 31 and published by March 10.
Missouri's Prevailing Wage Law establishes a minimum wage rate that must be paid to workers on Missouri public works construction projects valued at more than $75,000, such as bridges, roads, and government buildings. The prevailing wage rate differs by county and for different types of work.
State law requires that all workers working on public works projects be paid the proper prevailing wage rate. Prevailing wage rates are determined by actual hours worked, for a particular occupational title (classification/trade) in each individual county throughout the state.
The rates must be incorporated into contract specifications for all public works jobs. This is the minimum wage rate required for the project but employers are free to pay a higher rate of pay.
Every year, the Division of Labor Standards will release a final Annual Wage Order by July 1. The Annual Wage Order lists the prevailing wage rates in each county for the applicable occupational categories for the next year. The rate is calculated based on information received from Contractor's Wage Surveys, in which contractors voluntarily provide information about their projects that allows the Division to calculate the prevailing wage. If the necessary 1000 hours for each occupational title are not submitted, the department uses wage calculations supplied by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) within the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development.
Preliminary wage rates for individual counties can be viewed on the Department website at https://laborwebapps.mo.gov/dls/prevailingwage.