US employers budget for 3% pay increases – WorldatWork
US firms are budgeting for salary increases of 3% in 2017, the same level as in the past three years, according to WorldatWork. It’s the ‘largest survey of its kind with 4,942 responses from 19 countries representing nearly 15 million employees’.
- Base salary increases (e.g. general increase/cost-of-living adjustment, merit increase) are being awarded to 89% of employees in 2017, on average.
- Promotional increases were awarded to 7.9% (median: 7.0%) of employees in 2016, one-tenth of a percentage point lower than the 8.0% average in 2015 (median: 7.0%). Of the promotional increases received, the size of the average pay increase remained unchanged at 8.4% (median: 8.0%).
- The percentage of organisations using variable pay increased by one percentage point for the third straight year to 85% in 2017. This number has been hovering around 80% for many years.
Kerry Chou, senior practice leader at the organisation, said:
‘With a tight job market and reported financial gains, we might expect to see more growth in salaries. In the United States in particular, there are other factors that might explain this plateau in growth, including the increased use of variable pay or non-cash based rewards, or an overall more conservative pay philosophy.’
