The customary 3% salary increase of 2020 and 2021 was replaced by a median raise of 4% across employee categories in 2022, according to a new survey of more than 1,000 HR professionals by Salary.com.
The annual U.S. National Salary Budget Survey also revealed that actual 2022 salary increases turned out to be higher than what employers had planned for back in 2021. In fact, 22% of organizations gave raises in the 4% to 5% range, when only 12% had been planning to do so.
The trend toward higher salary budgets is expected to continue next year with the survey showing that the median raise is expected to be 4% again in 2023. Notably, 25% of employers said they are planning to give raises in the 5% to 7% range in 2023.
“2023 promises to be another banner year for employees seeking salary increases,” said Chris Fusco, SVP of Compensation at Salary.com. “For perspective, in 2020, as the pandemic was taking hold, just under 10% of employers planned a higher salary budget increase than the prior year. In 2023, almost half of employers are planning higher salary budgets.”
Salary increases in the healthcare industry have not kept pace with the rate of increases in other industries, the survey found. The 2022 median total salary increase in healthcare was in the 3% range, which is less than the U.S. median of 4%.
While notable given the challenges the healthcare industry has had in attracting and retaining quality workers, salary increases in the healthcare industry are impacted by reimbursement limits imposed by private and federal health insurers.
Over 1,000 human resource professionals across 20 diverse industries (including healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, retail and wholesale, hospitality and leisure, and education) participated in this survey, now in its 12th year, according to Salary.com
