COMP NEWS – A new report has found that CEOs made more than 300 times the salary of their median workers in 2021.

Chief executives at S&P 500 companies made 324 times more than the median workers at their companies in 2021 on average, according to an annual report from the U.S.’ largest labor union federation AFL-CIO released Monday morning, as the gap between compensation of top executives and workers continues to widen.

CEO pay has skyrocketed in recent decades: CEO compensation rose 1,322.2% from 1978 to 2020 adjusted for inflation, compared to an 18% increase in worker compensation, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis released last year. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the gap in compensation, a New York Times study conducted by Equilar last June revealed. The Times survey of the 200 highest-paid CEOs of public companies found CEO compensation increased 14.1% from 2019 to 2020 compared to a 1.9% increase for workers. Elevated consumer prices have largely negated the benefits of accelerated worker wage growth in 2020.

Another survey found that the gap may be even wider, indicating a more than 600-to-1 compensation ratio on average across 300 public companies

A similar survey from the Institute for Policy Studies released last month found an even wider gap in compensation between CEOs and median workers, finding CEOs made 670 times more than their median workers in 2021, up from 2020’s 604-to-1 ratio. The study looked at 300 public companies that primarily employ low-wage workers.

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