Salaries for new roles are stagnating – and in some cases, falling. Some employers may be looking to cut costs, but the lack of wage growth may be a matter of post-pandemic correction.
The mass US layoffs of the past few years are continuing. In 2024 alone, thousands of workers across many sectors, including media and technology, have lost their jobs and are on the hunt for new ones. But some are finding an unwelcome surprise as they scan listings for open roles. A salary bump is all but impossible; in many cases, wages seem lower than their previous pay – even for the same jobs.
They aren’t imagining things. A 2023 report on pay trends from ZipRecruiter showed 48% of 2,000 US companies surveyed lowered pay for certain roles.
But, say experts, companies aren’t necessarily just seizing a moment in a tight job market to reduce costs. In some cases, stagnant and even lowered salaries are the result of an overdue reset for a pandemic era surge in compensation when companies were scrambling to fill roles during the Great Resignation.
The tightening labour market has left US workers with fewer options than just years earlier. Beginning 2020, employers boosted salaries to new heights to attract talent to a deluge of open roles. But amid an uncertain economy, employers have pulled back from new hires and cut jobs.
“There is now less competition to hire workers – and therefore less need to boost wages,” says Nick Bunker, US-based director of North American Economic Research at Indeed. “Job postings have dropped quite a bit, while the supply of workers has grown.”
