wages actually paid for similar positions varied widely by geographic area. Southeast
Florida typically paid about 10 to 16% more for nursery workers than employers in
central Florida and 15-20% more than employers in the western part of the state.
 The survey provided useful data on wage classification structures. It was
found, for example, that in some nurseries workers started at $3.35/hour (minimum
wage at the time) while others in the same geographic area began workers at
$4.40/hour. Maximum rates paid for similar jobs also varied widely. For instance,
maximum shipping worker wages varied from a low of $3.80/hour to a high of $9.03/
hour. These variances could reflect cost-of-living differentials across areas, the
tightness of the local labor markets at the time, the number of long-term employees,
turnover rates, or unique aspects of job assignments.
 No consistent pattern emerged indicating that business size had any strong
influence on wage patterns. In fact, in many cases, top pay was found in smaller
units. This may suggest more careful compensation practices in large units or the
possibility of broader and more varied responsibilities in smaller units. The survey also
found that some employers paid below minimum wage. While this may have been
due to special circumstances or to clerical errors in completing the survey form, it
warrants attention.
 A review of turnover statistics suggests that some nurseries experienced
significant turnover (i.e., in excess of 200% annually). The higher turnover appeared
to be in the medium or larger size organizations. Pay-levels may have been a factor
in employee retention. Some nurseries adopted practices for retaining long-term
employees, such as special raises, one-time bonuses, profit sharing, service awards,
added health benefits, and vacation trips.
 The 1987 wage and benefits study provides a rough picture of some labor
 issues for an important sector of Florida's nursery industry. Labor represents the
 single greatest cost for most nurseries. How this cost was dealt with varied greatly
 from firm to firm, based on wage differentials, incentive programs, and the strong
 concern of managers with the impact of wages on profitability. From this information
 we may conclude that, for some nursery sectors, IRCA legislation could have posed
 a significant problem. How it eventually impacted the industry is now discussed in
 the following two sections.


 Labor Trends from Nursery Business Analysis

 Labor trends in Florida's nursery industry were evaluated with data from the
 University of Florida's Nursery Bysiness Analysis (NBA). This ongoing program gathers
 confidential business records from wholesale ornamental nursery firms in order to
 develop industry standards for business performance and to analyze individual firm
 performance. A total of 707 records were collected from 234 firms for the period
 1984 through 1991. This timeframe allows a comparison of business performance
 before and after the implementation of IRCA. Because participating firms were
 accepted on a voluntary basis, the data set was not a statistically designed sample