North Carolina Troopers Get a Long-Awaited Raise

After five years of stagnant pay, N.C. State Highway Patrol troopers will receive a 5% to 6% salary increase as part of a $21 billion budget passed by state legislators last week, reports the Charlotte Observer .

Pay for troopers and other state jobs has been mostly frozen since 2009 as North Carolina struggled to balance the budget during the recession.

The 2014-15 budget increases salary for state troopers sworn in between 2005 and June 30 this year by 5% to 6%. Starting salary for troopers is $34,000 and is capped at $57,000.

Trooper Daniel Jenkins Jr., president of the N.C. Troopers Association, said that the 2009 pay freeze "definitely affected our applicant pool and the turnover rate," but that a salary increase should put hiring and employee retention on the right track.