ST. PAUL — A new survey of manufacturing executives in Minnesota says they’re increasing wages for the first time since the recession in order to attract qualified employees.

The survey of 400 factory executives done by consulting group Enterprise Minnesota shows they’re increasingly concerned about finding and keeping qualified workers. In 2010, 19 percent of survey respondents expressed that concern. In 2014, that number is 34 percent.

Enterprise CEO Bob Kill tells Minnesota Public Radio News about a quarter of the executives surveyed plan to invest more in worker development this year than they did last year.