According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ freshly released Employment Cost Index (ECI) data, nominal wages and compensation for all civilian workers climbed at a rapid 4.4 percent annual rate over the last three months (BLS). Nominal wages and salaries have increased by 4.5 percent since December 2020, the quickest rate of increase since 1983. With these gains, nominal wages and salaries are now 1.2 percent higher than they were before the outbreak. Unlike monthly average hourly earnings data, the ECI data keeps the composition of employment constant, so it is not skewed when low-wage workers, for example, lose or gain jobs disproportionately.
Prices, on the other hand, have grown significantly, and inflation-adjusted incomes have fallen by 4.3 percent in the previous three months, 2.4 percent in the last year, and 1.2 percent since December 2019. If pre-pandemic trends had remained, inflation-adjusted salaries should have increased 2.1 percent over this period, leaving real wages substantially below their pre-pandemic trend. While nominal salaries have risen faster in some areas than before the pandemic, real wage growth has been below trend in all sectors.
Compensation, which includes perks such as health insurance, shows a similar pattern: a high gain from September to December, much exceeding expectations for nominal growth, but still insufficient to keep up with inflation.
The outlook for real wage growth is influenced by a number of factors, including I labor market tightness, which should put more upward pressure on nominal wages than on prices; (ii) whether employers adjust nominal wage growth to reflect higher inflation, which was standard in contracts and bargaining during earlier periods of high inflation but has been largely absent for several decades; and (iii) the outlook for inflation, in particular whether it will continue to rise.
Are wages rising in line with inflation?
In the last six years, an average of 31% of companies have given average raises of 3% or more. In 2022, 44% of companies intend to grant salary raises of more than 3%. Inflation was 7.5 percent higher in January 2022 than it was a year earlier, a 40-year high.
In 2021, how much did wages rise?
According to new studies from the Labor Department and the ADP Research Institute, which collects payroll data, wages in the United States have grown across the board in the last year as firms compete to keep workers. Wages have increased in all areas, but the private sector has seen the most rise, with pay up 4.5 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021. According to BLS data, salaries and benefits climbed by 4% in 2021, the largest increase in over 20 years.
Should employers adjust their salary to account for inflation?
Work has gotten worse for many since the outbreak of the epidemic, further aggravating the issue. Due to the high incidence of employees abandoning their jobs, a smaller number of people are shouldering the workload that was formerly carried by a larger number of workers, adding to significant burnout rates. Not to mention the additional hazards posed by the pandemic itself, which include creating more hazardous work situations and adding more labor such as ensuring consumers are wearing masks.
“No one thinks when they sign up to be a cashier that that job will be deadly,” Molly Kinder, a Brookings fellow and the report’s author, told Recode, referring to the dangers that people working in front-line positions at places like grocery stores or pharmacies face if they become infected with the virus. According to Kinder, one Kroger employee she’s been interviewing isn’t sure if a raise will be enough to compensate for the increased stress.
“She’s been harping on the importance of a $15 minimum wage. “Is that additional tiny bit of money worth it when my mental health is suffering, it’s so unsafe, and I’m spending more at the pump?” she asks when she finally understands.
Inflationary pressures on salaries are projected to endure through 2022. According to a new poll of more than 5,000 employers across industries by compensation software business Payscale, 85 percent of employers are concerned that projected salary increases this year, which are already significantly greater than in recent years, will be undermined by inflation.
Fortunately for you, we’re in a once-in-a-generation historical moment where inflation is predicted to decline but labor shortages are not.
“According to David Smith, an economics professor at Pepperdine’s business school, “workers have more bargaining power, which can be a countervailing force to some of the difficulties we’re having,” such as income disparity. “In the long run, that would be beneficial.”
For the time being, those gains are required to keep up with the rising cost of commodities. However, if the price of products moderates, these long-overdue pay increases may have some real-world impact for Americans.
What employers are going to have to do about it
Employers suffer from inflation because they must spend more to keep their employees from looking for greater pay elsewhere. Employers may need to raise wages in line with inflation, provide better perks, or change how they operate in order to retain those workers.
The most basic solution is to raise salaries. In the six years that Payscale has been collecting this data, 44 percent of firms say they plan to provide average raises of 3% or more this year. Fewer than 10% are increasing pay by more than 5%, which is more in line with inflation.
“There are certain companies who simply go out there and say, ‘We have enough wealth, and we can go out and be dominant in salary as a differentiator,'” says one employer. Payscale’s chief people officer, Shelly Holt, stated. “When you look at a middle or smaller company, they might not have the luxury.”
To recruit and keep employees, these businesses will have to rely more heavily on other forms of benefits. This might entail, among other things, greater health care coverage, increased vacation time, and remote job choices. That corresponds to some of the insights gained during the Great Resignation.
“Employees want more than just a good salary. Pay is important, but employees also desire workplace flexibility and the opportunity to live better lives, which is changing how they think about perks and total rewards, according to Holt.
Companies are offering a greater choice of perks this year than they were pre-pandemic, according to Payscale. Prior to the pandemic, only 40% of the organizations polled offered remote work choices; now, 65% do. This year, the number of companies offering mental health and wellness programs increased by 7% to 65 percent. There were also modest increases in the number of businesses that provide four-day workweeks and child care subsidies.
According to Allie Kelly, chief marketing officer of recruiting platform Jobvite, the things that might help set firms apart require a shift in perspective, from treating employees like labor to treating them like people. This necessitates a constant reevaluation of offers in order to keep up with what’s vital to their employees.
“People have various perceptions and understandings of their own self-worth and what matters to them in life. Money is important, but it isn’t enough,” Kelly said, listing perks such as child care, shorter workdays, and more professional growth, as well as lower benefits and income.
While many of these perks may be less expensive than a 7.9% annual raise, they are not free. Companies must decide whether they can or should pass on those expenses to customers, which could worsen inflation, or whether they can simply swallow them as a cost of doing business. According to Erica Groshen, senior economics advisor at Cornell University’s labor school, this could entail opening for fewer hours, producing less overall, or cutting profit margins.
“Right now, and for a long time, we have historically high profit margins,” Groshen remarked. “As a result, it would not be considered a crisis in the past.”
The rising expense of human work is also hastening the transition from wage labor to automation, as has been predicted for some time. Robots, while expensive, do not demand more money and do not become ill during a pandemic.
Employers will replace people with robots to the extent that they can, according to Shivaram Rajgopal, a professor at Columbia University’s business school.
“Now you use a QR code to find the menu,” Rajgopal explained. “The next step is to simply place the order, and it will be delivered to the kitchen. We don’t require as many people to serve us.”
However, for those of us who haven’t yet been replaced by robots, the current employment scenario may work in our favor. That’s because, while inflation is expected to reduce, the demographics that are causing the labor shortage an entire generation of baby boomers retiring aren’t likely to change.
“I don’t think the power will suddenly shift back to employers,” said Kinder of the Brookings Institution. “If inflation moderates, some of these demand-and-supply difficulties moderate, and workers retain some negotiating leverage, that would be a good conclusion.”
To put it another way, your next increase may feel a lot better if you’re not spending as much for everything else, but we don’t know when high inflation will end.
This item has been updated with new inflation and wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as of March 10, 2022.
Is a 3% rise sufficient?
An annual pay raise of 3% may not seem like much, especially in light of recent events in the world. But it’s better than nothing in today’s environment. Remember that little increments add up over time and can culminate in a very high pay.
Are wages continuing to rise?
Workers’ hourly salary has climbed by 5.7 percent in the last year. Production workers earned an average hourly income of $26.92, up 6.9% over the previous year.
What industry experienced the most job growth in 2021?
In the second quarter of 2021, the service-providing industries saw a net job increase of 948,000. The leisure and hospitality sector, which added 741,000 jobs throughout the quarter, had the highest net employment growth among service-providing businesses.
What steps are employers taking to combat inflation?
The latter element, in particular, led to one significant adjustment for the year: a 10% reduction in employee healthcare rates in 2022, with no change in benefit levels.
“People are continually whining about the high cost of healthcare. “What our employees told us was that they wanted more money in their pockets,” Darren Burton, the company’s chief people officer, said. “The response has been overwhelming.”
KPMG isn’t the only firm concerned about and responding to growing inflation rates. According to the Consumer Price Index, the annual rate of inflation in the United States reached 6.8% in November 2021, the highest in more than three decades. Businesses areand should bethinking about how they can help, says Stephanie Naznitsky, an executive director with human resource consulting firm Robert Half. With those large hikes hitting employees in all aspects of life, employers areand should bethinking about how they can help. That urgency is amplified in today’s hot job market, where a large number of people are willing to leave their existing jobs in exchange for higher income and better benefits that can help with mounting costs.
“Rising living costs are affecting the entire workforce,” she explains. “This is something that employers should address.”
According to Naznitsky, rising inflation rates, among other problems brought on by the epidemic, have caused workers to re-evaluate their current status. “We’re currently in a candidate-driven market. There are more job opportunities than qualified applicants. Workers are aware that, as the cost of living rises, they can seek out alternative chances to improve their circumstances and balance some of the personal living expenses that have risen in recent months.”
When it comes to dealing with rising inflation rates, many companies are turning to a tried-and-true strategy: pay improvements, such as bonuses and salary hikes. According to a recent XpertHR survey, the typical percentage change for overall compensation budgets from 2021 to 2022 is 3%.
According to the Conference Board, companies are putting away an average of 3.9 percent of total payroll for salary hikes next year, the highest level since 2008. Despite the fact that these raises are bigger than in recent years, clever companies will almost certainly go even higher.
“Forward-thinking organizations who wish to overcome the labor scarcity should consider increasing their expected salary budgets by more than 3%, or look into how benefits other than pay can contribute to a great employee experience,” says Andrew Hellwege, XpertHR’s surveys editor.
According to Julie Stich, vice president of content for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, a nonpartisan organization with more than 8,200 organizations and 32,000 individuals as members, reexamining employee healthcare costs, as KPMG did, is one way employers often address rising inflation. With the latest inflation figureson top of pandemic concerns that are causing staffing issues and supply chain issues, which are projected to drive up healthcare coststhis is a hot topic this year.
“Employers should discuss whether or not to pass on anticipated healthcare expense hikes to their employees,” she says. “In this tight job market, employers may be hesitant to expand cost-sharing.”
To deal with mounting costs, an increasing number of companies are attempting to get creative with their benefit offerings. Employers may choose to invest in perks such as student debt assistance, daycare subsidies, or fertility benefitsservices that directly benefit an employee’s wallet. According to Stich, these investments frequently pay off for businesses.
“She emphasizes that “the benefits of attracting and maintaining essential individuals can quickly surpass any utilization costs.” “The significance of communication, as always, cannot be overstated. Employers must emphasize the importance of the advantages they provide to their workers.”
Employees can be more in control of moving away from expensive cities, for example, or cutting down on commuting to save on gas or other transportation expenses, thanks to flexibility and remote work, according to Naznitsky.
“If you can assist in those areas, you may be able to save your employees from a stressful commute and commuting costs, or you may be able to provide discounts to help with other expenses,” she says. “Ultimately, the discussion revolves around starting salaries and sign-on bonuses, but we’ve seen employers get inventive in order to assist their employees and keep top talent.”
“Retention is critical, and if businesses don’t keep up with rising costs by altering compensation or bonus structures, they risk losing top people,” says Naznitsky. “Finding talent to add to your team is difficult in today’s industry. You don’t want to be in a scenario where employee turnover is harming morale and you have to replace talent on top of that.”
Is a $1 rise acceptable?
A $1 per hour raise adds up to $2,080 extra each year if you work 40 hours per week and 52 weeks per year. The dollar raise calculator below will determine the annual impact of various pay raise situations.
How to Calculate Pay Raise
Convert the percentage to a decimal number (move the decimal point 2 places to the left) and multiply your existing pay or salary by the decimal figure to determine your pay boost based on a percentage increase.
How to Figure Out Pay Increase Percentage
Subtract your current pay from your new pay, divide the result by your current pay, and convert the result to a percentage (move decimal point 2 places to the right).
Calculate your Net Paycheck with and without the dollar amount increase to estimate your rise after taxes.
How Much of a Raise to Ask For?
That depends on how valuable you are to your firm and how well it is going.
Asking for a raise may not make sense if you aren’t adding to your employer’s bottom line and your employer is trying to make ends meet.
On the other hand, if you know your work is profitable for your employer and that your firm’s bottom line is improving, it wouldn’t be unusual to ask for a 10% to 20% raise above your present salary.
In either event, if you don’t get a yearly rise that keeps pace with inflation (see Salary Inflation Calculator), your purchasing power will dwindle, even though your compensation remains constant.
Who Ultimately Determines Your Earnings?
Who is ultimately responsible for the amount of money you make when working for an employer? Here’s a hint if you’re not sure. It is NOT your boss.
Your Employer’s Perspective
First and foremost, as someone who has worked as an employer, I can assure you that your boss would love nothing more than to pay you what your time, abilities, and skills are worth to the organization. After all, your employer is competing for employees in the same way that you are competing for your job. There are just three conceivable explanations for why your company isn’t paying you what you’re worth.
- The business is unable to compete effectively in its market (they might be in desperate need of better employees).
Profitable Employers Are Not Stupid
Your boss isn’t constantly plotting methods to make you work harder for less money, contrary to popular belief. If your employer is profitable, they are probably aware that if they do not pay their best employees competitive compensation, they will lose them. They are also aware that if they lose all of their top staff, they will most likely cease to be profitable.
As a result, the first step in the “raise your income” method is to ensure that you are, and will remain, one of your employer’s finest employees. This ensures that you be paid the maximum amount that the employer can afford based on their earnings. Encourage your coworkers to become “best” employees as well if you want to help your employer raise their revenue.
Golden vs. Rotten Eggs
Many employees are unaware that their boss is the golden goose that produces golden eggs. What do you mean by that? Because every dollar you receive from your employer has the potential to earn money. You can continue to receive revenue from each hour of work if you invest a percentage of each dollar you earn… for the rest of your life. Golden Eggs, ah-ha!
You have effectively transformed the prospective Golden Eggs into Rotten Eggs if you fail to invest any percentage of the money your job pays you and instead spend it all on non-appreciating things.
As a result, the second component of the “raise your income” formula is determined by what you do with the money your boss gives you.
Asking for a Pay Raise
What is the most successful method for requesting a pay raise? Find a full-length mirror, stand in front of it, and politely request that the person in front of you earn a promotion and stop turning all of your Golden Eggs into Rotten Eggs.
In ten years, how much should your pay increase?
Inflation has consistently been between 1% and 2% over the last ten years, while merit budget increases have been between 2% and 3%, according to the consultant.