the survey, the percentage of integrators that boosted their off erings for health insurance (employee only and family) and dental insurance rose in 2021. Product discounts off ered to employees is another benefi t that saw more integrators off ering it last year. Lower margin on labor continues to be an increasingly sour note for the industry. According to the survey, integrators report earning 28.1% profi t on their labor. That is down slightly from 28.4% in 2020, but signifi cantly down from the much healthier 36.9% in 2019. This continuing trend could be a signal that the price pressures related to DIY devices that are fl ooding the smart home scene are continuing to force some CE pros to lower or maintain their hourly rates for clients to remain competitive. Remarkably, 2% of integrators report they lose money on their labor. Those are likely security-based providers off ering subsidized entry-level alarm systems with additional smart home features tacked on and multi-year monitoring agreements. Another 7% of dealers report they break even on their labor. The use of subcontract labor fell in 2021. According to the study, 36% of integrators report they used subcontract installation labor last year. That is down from 46% in 2020. It could be a sign that integrators are opting to use their own staff more for pre-wires and other installation tasks perhaps driven by the pandemic and the lack of a skilled independent labor pool. CE Pro BENEFIT Paid Vacation Paid Holidays Worker's Compensation Laptop Paid Sick Leave Uniforms Health Insurance - individual Paid Training/Tuition Reimbursement Product Discounts Provide Tools or Tool Reimbursement 401(k) Plan Cellphone or Cellphone Reimbursement Trade Show Travel Paid Certification Dental Insurance Vision Insurance Health Insurance - spouse and family Paid Bereavement Leave Company Vehicle Allowance Life Insurance Paid Maternity/Paternity Leave Profit Sharing Flexible Spending Accounts Gym Membership Reimbursement Percent of CE Pros Offering 85% 73% 70% 68% 66% 65% 61% 54% 54% 54% 52% 51% 50% 48% 46% 39% 46% 39% 35% 31% 28% 19% 17% 8% For the most part, employee benefi ts remained unchanged in 2021, but there were slight increases in insurance off erings, likely as an incentive to attract new employees in the tight labor pool. cepro.com February 2022 CE Pro | 43 2021 Employee Benefits Offered UP 2% UP 1% UP 2% DOWN 8%http://www.cepro.com