COMP NEWS – A new survey from Salary.com reveals that nearly two-thirds of employers are planning to increase base salaries in a bid to find new employees.

Job seekers hoping to secure signing bonuses had better move quickly, as employers are indicating in a new Salary.com survey of U.S. companies that these bonuses are a short-term fix for widespread talent shortages. While 50 percent of employers surveyed are offering signing bonuses, only 20 percent expect to still be doing so at the end of 2021.

 

This is not bad news for new hires, however, as more than 62 percent of organizations are planning to increase base salaries to attract new hourly and salaried employees within the next six months, which will increase their labor costs. Even more promising news for job seekers: 67 percent said their starting base salaries are above their market reference point.

The need for competitive compensation models is more apparent than ever amid the United States’ recent labor crunch. Roughly 4 out of 5 employers fear a talent shortage, the survey says.

With 82 percent of employers saying they perceive a talent shortage, the prevalence of signing bonuses is not surprising. Signing bonuses have been deployed in relatively equal measure to both salaried and hourly workers, with hourly employees getting a median bonus of $1,000 and salaried employees getting a median bonus of $5,000.

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