You have seen and heard of others leaving their current jobs for greener pastures during the pandemic’s “great resignation,” and you may have wondered if you should be doing the same.
Payroll firm Automatic Data Processing, known as ADP, just analyzed the wages of 18 million workers during the last three months of 2021 to spot trends.
Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, said the wage gains are real, adding that Generation Z jobholders, those 24 years old and under, saw a salary increase of 13% from a year ago, the highest average wage gains of any group of workers.
“If you're a young person, and you can keep a job for over a year through a pandemic, you deserve that double-digit wage increase,” Richardson said.
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Millennials saw average wage gains come in at 9%, Generation X at just under 6%, and Baby Boomers at 3.5%, according to ADP.
In many cases, the raises have not been enough, according to Marta Lopez of Bristol.
“If you're asking for what we pay in our groceries or anything else, compared to what we're getting paid, and the amount of taxes that you pay, it doesn't balance out,” Lopez said.
For those not getting big jumps in pay, the question may be, 'should I stay, or should I go?'
Rondel Bourne, of Hartford, says he has a great job and isn’t looking for another one, but he has been the exception among his social circles.
“My friends are most definitely looking to you know, move from their jobs and find something better," Bourne said.
Richardson suggests you might want to see what other jobs are out there, especially if you are looking for a position in tech, finance, information technology, and professional business services.
“The talent war is strong here and the wage gains are for those who are able to switch jobs within these industries,” Richardson said.
Richardson added certain sized businesses seem to have more wage bumps.
"They're actually outpacing both smaller and larger firms to not only retain their workforce but to hire, so they're paying more for jobholders and for job switchers,” Richardson said.
For many, the best thing to do may be to stay put -- your company just might reward you for that.
However, if you are looking, it’s a rare opportunity where, for workers, it’s a seller’s market.
