Wages in the U.S. Have Increased the Fastest in 20 Years

This Year Wages in the U.S. Have Increased the Fastest in 20 Years

As many Americans clamored to get their COVID-19 vaccination so too did employers race to increase their leverage in attracting ideal candidates. As more people began to have increased confidence in making career moves, employers raised wages – wages and salaries for private industry workers increased at an annualized rate of 4.3% over the six-month period ended June 2021 – a lot higher than the average rate of 2%-3% over the past 20 years.

However, wage growth is expected to slow down in late 2021 through 2022…only to pick up again in 2023, especially in blue-collar and manual services industries.

Amazon Increases Hourly Wage to Entice 125K New Hires

Amazon plans to hire 125,000 fulfillment and transportation employees, and is looking at a bump in wages to lure them in.  The average starting hourly wage will be $18, climbing to $22.50 in certain areas.

Signing bonuses up to $3,000 are also possible, in addition to benefits, paid tuition and training programs.

Worker Expectations: More Job Offers and Higher Pay

Recent numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York infer that confidence in job offers is up with workers…as well as salary expectations.  The expected average annual salary for job offers increase from $54,646 in July 2020 to $57,207.  Survey respondents also felt that while their confidence was below pre-pandemic levels, they expected to receive at least one job offer in the next four months.

Rural Nurses Lured Away to Travel Nurse Jobs

Already dealing with a staffing issue, rural hospitals are losing their nurses to high-paid travel nurse jobs.  These jobs could be up to 10 times the pay that the nurses are currently making in their hometowns. About 60 million people count on small local hospitals for healthcare in rural areas, but many are finding that resources are slimmer than ever.

Global Hiring Forecasts Increase for Q4

In a recent survey, 59% of employers surveyed in the U.S. expected to add to payrolls in Q4. While the hiring sentiment was the strongest in the U.S. globally, the survey included 45,000 employers in 43 countries. 14 of those reporting outlooks were at 10-year highs – all countries reported stronger hiring intentions year over year.

Almost Half of Employees Quitting Over Revoked Remote Work

According to a recent survey, around 44% of employees know at least one person who has quit or is planning to quit due to their employers requiring them to head back into the office. Another 29% are looking for a new job with a remote work option.

UPS Looks to Hire More than 100K Seasonal Employees

This holiday season will be one for the record books, or at least that’s the expectation. To manage this growth, UPS is hiring more than 100K seasonal staffers this holiday season. Nando Cesarone, President of U.S. Operations for UPS stated that many applicants will have an offer in hand within 30 minutes of applying. About a third of seasonal package handler jobs actually turned into permanent roles in the past.