Majority of Americans did not get a raise in 2018

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Marketwatch

More than half of Americans say they didn’t get a pay raise this year
Published: Dec 15, 2018 10:36 a.m. ET

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The economy is thriving, but many Americans say they aren’t seeing a difference in their paychecks

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Most workers say they saw no wage increases despite the thriving economy, a new survey finds.

By

KARI
PAUL
REPORTER

Although the economy saw new peaks in 2018, not all Americans report reaping the benefits. The majority of workers say they saw no salary increases this year, according to a new survey.

More than 60% of Americans said they didn’t get a pay raise at their current job or get a better-paying job in the last 12 months, according to a survey released Wednesday from finance site Bankrate.com. Meanwhile, executives have seen a surge in compensation, according to an August study from the Economic Policy Institute. The average chief executive officer at the 350 largest firms in the U.S. received $18.9 million in compensation in 2017, the study showed, a 17.6% increase over 2016.

Despite those disparities, 91% of Americans say they have the same or greater confidence in the job market than they did one year ago, according to Bankrate.com.

Don’t miss: Americans have a lot to feel confident about, so why are they feeling so nervous?

The survey findings suggest not all Americans are experiencing the modest pay growth that occurred this year, a welcome end to nearly decade of stagnant wages.

“The result of trickle-down economics is plain to see in this survey,” Melissa Boteach, senior vice president of the Poverty to Prosperity program at the Center for American Progress, said. “The people at the top are getting richer and richer and everyday working families are not getting their fair share.”

Though several states — and some companies including Amazon AMZN, +0.94% — have moved to increase the minimum wage, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009. Studies show a $15 wage is the minimum amount needed to keep low-wage workers out of poverty. The cost of living has increased in recent years, with consumer inflation hitting a 6-year high in July 2018.

“People are living in precarious financial situations because wages have not kept pace with cost of living,” Boteach said. “If a car breaks down or a child gets an injury, families can spiral downward quickly.”

Arkansas and Missouri voted to pass increases in minimum wage in the 2018 midterm elections. Boteach noted that the majority of Americans (75% according to a 2015 survey by Hart research) support raising the minimum wage.

To get raises, employees should leverage the tight labor market and move to better-paying jobs, the Bankrate.com survey suggested. Full-time employees are almost twice as likely to get pay raises and/or better-paying jobs than part-time workers. Older baby boomers (ages 64-72) had the highest incidence of reporting neither a pay raise or a better paying job, at 79%. Younger millennials (ages 18-27) were the most likely age group to get a promotion or new job responsibilities that resulted in a pay raise.

“Pay raises and landing a higher paying job continue to be the exception rather than the rule, even in a strong economy with low unemployment,” Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com said. “Households seeking income growth are increasingly finding it ‘the old fashioned way — they earn it’ to quote an old TV commercial, usually by working more hours rather than being paid more per hour.”

To sum up, cost of living is rising, and wages seem to be stagnating. That's not a good combination.

[The Romulan Republic]

Yeah, Trump's "great economy" (which is now faltering as the stock market is experiencing the worst December since the Great Depression) was only ever good for the rich. It did fuck all for the living standards of the average person.

[Gandalf]

Isn't this the capitalism for which the US fought the Cold War?

[Enigma]

I am fortunate to work for a company that raises wages to actually try and keep good workers. I'm definitely not going to look for another job as I seriously doubt I'll get the same pay or even come close to it.

[Elheru Aran]

I did, actually, but I'm fortunate enough to work for a corporation that's doing well. I went from like 11.45 to 12.60.

That said... it's still not enough, by itself, to pay bills plus mortgage plus health insurance plus cover essentials. If my wife wasn't also employed, we'd be in the shit.

And, I should note, retail employees generally get raises that are measured in cents. As in, one "raise" I got was literally seven cents a hour. Considering this is a billion-dollar corporation, it's pretty fucking literally penny-ante.

[Enigma]

I did, actually, but I'm fortunate enough to work for a corporation that's doing well. I went from like 11.45 to 12.60.

That said... it's still not enough, by itself, to pay bills plus mortgage plus health insurance plus cover essentials. If my wife wasn't also employed, we'd be in the shit.

And, I should note, retail employees generally get raises that are measured in cents. As in, one "raise" I got was literally seven cents a hour. Considering this is a billion-dollar corporation, it's pretty fucking literally penny-ante.

The company you work for doesn't provide health insurance?

[Elheru Aran]

I did, actually, but I'm fortunate enough to work for a corporation that's doing well. I went from like 11.45 to 12.60.

That said... it's still not enough, by itself, to pay bills plus mortgage plus health insurance plus cover essentials. If my wife wasn't also employed, we'd be in the shit.

And, I should note, retail employees generally get raises that are measured in cents. As in, one "raise" I got was literally seven cents a hour. Considering this is a billion-dollar corporation, it's pretty fucking literally penny-ante.

The company you work for doesn't provide health insurance?

Well, yes, but it takes a significant chunk out of our pay. Which is a whole other subject. But yes, that's a "benefit". The scare-quotes are there because a.) if you want to save money, you get lousy service with a high deductible so you end up paying money out of pocket anyway, b.) if you want good service you'll be paying a significant amount of money... which if you're generally healthy and/or don't actually use services covered by the insurance very often, is kind of wasted. So, either way, you're boned.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

Which has bern the story of most group health plans post-ACA.

[His Divine Shadow]

Has been the story in europe too. And we got austerity to boot.