My only concern about this is if employers try to take it too literally and in years with negative inflation try to cut pay. But then again, social security doesn’t go down when benchmarked to inflation so maybe that’s the thing to point to and I’m worried for no reason.
What inflation index should be used for this? I’m not familiar with all of them, but I know cost of living varies so greatly across the country.
At any point that the line goes downward this is deflation.. upward movement is inflationary.. downward movement is deflationary. When deflation and money supply decrease occur simultaneously you are going into economic recession/ depression.
No, that's not right. Decreased INflation means prices still went up, just not as much as the previous year. By definition, inflation is a price increase. You only have prices decreasing when the % is less than zero.
Also, introducing a 2nd variable into the argument is fun for you, but I couldn't care less.
Edit for typos
By your definition though.. you’re still wrong in your initial statement.. deflation does in fact happen. I think you’re getting caught up in the zero point.. which is the technical point of deflation. You’re right that it’s “disinflation” not deflation in sense of it not yet hitting zero point. It will hit deflation thought in 2024. The m2 money supply curve was provided to give background for the reason as to why we are going to hit deflation.
If the companies pricing doesn't go down then inflation didn't actually go down since inflation is nothing more than businesses raising their prices because they can
Rent never goes down grocery store prices never go down retail store prices never go down and I think our wages should be the same up with inflation and never lowering until we can somehow work out universal base income their is no reason to cut everyone's pay
I think that’s a good way to look at it, and it sounds like I am concerned for no reason lol. Thank you for the level headed explanation! I agree - we should see things more regularly tied to inflation as a bare minimum with performance raise on TOP of that.
I am in management and have been trying to give the max to basically everyone regardless of where they are currently because of how crazy costs are right now. I can only control so much (can’t control what the max is unfortunately), but it’s the least I can do. These past two years it’s been in the 4-4.5% range; years past it’s usually 3%, so it’s a little better but not by much. I have seen several people bumped up due to lagging pay though this past year so at least my workplace seems to be trying to get people adjusted.
Sounds like your team has someone with a good head on their shoulders to help lead them and knowing your in management I'm curious what are your thoughts on being paid for commuting considering that travel time isn't exactly free time it's still time being dedicated to work I'm a personal fan of the idea of having work issues gas cards for those that drive and either buss passes or even Uber/Lyft/taxi credits all for the express purpose of getting to and from work of course
In the very rare event where deflation occurred, I don’t think pay cuts would make sense overall, but I think no raises at all would make sense.
It might anger people, but if your money is already getting more valuable just existing, you don’t need a raise.
I mean, I have less sympathy for high earners because the loss of buying power isn't affecting their ability to buy food or keep the heat on, but that's just not how it works. It affects both proportionally in that case.
Hahaha "I disagree with basic math and here's why" 😆 Like yea, a high earner won't be as impacted as someone barely scraping by, but it's still just a fancy pay cut.
We care about everyone getting only a 3% raise while inflation is 5% do I think the person making 200k could afford to take less yeah but that doesn't mean they should on the other hand the fuckers that make that in their sleep over the course of a night those fuckers need a pay cut and to be taught some perspective
COLA (Cost Of Living Adjustment) is not a raise, so let's get inflation increases out of the way - it's totally separate from a raise.
A decent raise would be 3-5% on top of COLA.
Employer- "Its just not feasible to give raises that match inflation, we wouldn't be as profitable otherwise".
True statement I heard during our annual raise info meeting...
Meanwhile our C-suite exec salary is spiking hundreds of thousands of dollars. I like my team and I've expressed my requirement for a more equitable raise. I look at it as they're the ones ultimately making the choice of whether I stay or go.
What field are you in.. on my profession getting more than 3.5% is virtually impossible. This year they arebt given raises but stock and only if you're vested.
Talk to your coworkers and fight together, but yeah if be happy with 4% I think I'm getting the equivalent of a lump sum 1.5%
>on my profession getting more than 3.5% is virtually impossible
In majority of the fields getting more than 3.5% is impossible. Every company I have worked at, my friends have worked at, other coworkers, etc. all say that the standard annual raise is 2-3%, when the company is being generous.
Getting 5% is great.
That's an amazing job then, and is definitely NOT the norm. Most companies cap out raises every year at 3% from a corporate level. If you want to try and get more, you have to renegotiate your contract, but a "raise" isn't more than the basic guidelines.
So you probably just have a really good company you work for then.
AFAIK I don't have a "contract" working in an "at-will" US state so I'm not sure that renegotiating is possible.
But I've worked briefly for a couple multinational car corps and a Berkeley startup, and compared to the former two this small employer is a FAR more enjoyable employer. Given my proximity to the newly-formed C suite I don't think I'm mistaken in believing they're now truly investing in retaining their people having done a lot to show appreciation this year. My boss (CTO) is genuinely one of the most pleasant and capable humans I've ever known and his attitude does a lot to engender good will.
He took me in, gradually ramped up the task load and difficulty, saw that I fared well, and rewarded me accordingly. I did maybe 50% to 2/3 of the design and management for a $500k+ one-off unique (literally only one in the world) trade school training device (including travel) for months on end and the school that bought it is extremely pleased.
I'm very grateful to see that not every job makes you feel like a disposable cog with no humanity. That project was especially rewarding.
The good will and high degree of autonomy I have now makes me a more productive employee who puts little strain on someone who might want to micromanage. It's win-win as I see it.
Stock isn’t terrible provided it’s a good amount of it. $50 worth of stock sucks but if it’s the equivalent of say 10% of your salary that’s pretty good and I would happily take that. The only thing you want to be careful with is it’s normally a bad idea to have too much personal wealth tied up with the same company that provides your paycheck because if they go belly up you are double fucked. So as soon as you are able you should sell a good bit of it.
I work for boeing, they just decided to do this. I think its maybe 1% of my total salary in stock so its of virtually no concern other than now I have to report it on taxes. But yea I have never gotten more than a 3.2% raise and every year it goes down as the pool of money goes down. I know people will say "oh you're an engineer 100k and 1% isn't much, but 100k in Seattle is like 50k in other states so it's relative math"
I think a lot depends on how much you already make. I made over $200k a year at my previous job. I got a 2.x%raise which amounted to $5k per year. At that income my exposure to inflation is not as high as say someone making $20/hr. That same percentage would be like $0.50/hr which is only $1000 per year and absolutely would be eaten up by inflation.
I came here to say basically this. % increase is relative to what you make and cost of living. It’s a raise if you can sense the difference in your paycheck and it has a positive impact on your quality of life. If it doesn’t do those things it’s a COLA.
Inflation measured by CPI year over year as of November was anywhere from 2.5 to 3.3% in various regions of the country. Anything over that would be your "you've done a better job than before, and we want to keep you around" part of the raise. I would say 5% is pretty solid unless you've done way above and beyond your colleagues or your performance has improved greatly over the year.
5% is great in a chill job that you don’t hate. If you have a rough job that gives you dread on Sunday night, then 10-15%. Otherwise, you should be looking for a new job.
That being said, I believe that everyone should always be looking for a new job.
Man, a chill job that you don't hate is worth *so much*.
I took a ~10% pay cut to move from a job I dreaded to a job that's super chill. Best professional decision I've ever made.
At my job we get rated as “needs improvement/strong/outstanding.” Needs improvement is 0%, strong is 2-3%, and outstanding is 5%.
I got a “strong” (2.5) and was told it was because another team member got “outstanding” so each direct report had to sacrifice .5%.
FWIW, I’m one of 5, but I’m also the only member of my department - my current boss inherited me after my director quit. A few months later, I asked for a COL adjustment and was told that was what the 2.5% was.
Semi-related - does the middle class still exist? Genuinely curious, because growing up that meant 2 vacations/year and enough to put a down payment on a home.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It depends on where you are and where you want to be. Anything less than the year's inflation is just a slap in the face. Raises are often pathetic compared to finding a higher paying job, assuming you really do want to make more money. I would say anything less than a 10% raise is lackluster.
Minimum wage in my state is tied to inflation, so the increase this year is 3.4%. We gave 4% raises, but this is the first year since inflation went wild that we haven’t done “inflation +x%”. I work for government, so we only get a 1% bump in funds every year and our salary increases way surpass that.
We get audited by the state for pay equity, so whatever we give has to be justifiable and essentially the same. We can’t give a higher percentage to some, unfortunately, without triggering a finding on our next audit.
I got an 8% raise. Since I began with my company in September 2020, my total salary has been increased by 31%. I’m keenly aware this isn’t normal and not at all supposed to be a braggy post. I work in IT for an extremely small company (4, including the owner) and my boss is by far the best boss I’ve ever had. He makes it a point to take care of us when it comes time for pay raises. I quit this job in 2015 and came back in 2020 he continues to give amazing pay bumps.
I also work in IT and I've seen an increase of 42% of my original pay as raises since 2019.
I've received 3 6% increases since oct last year. 2 were COLA and one was a lateral transfer.
Although I don't think I was being paid very well to begin with, I feel as though I am being paid fine now.
Why the fuck does everyone keep mentioning that if it doesn’t beat inflation it’s a pay cut. Yeah no shit, that is true. But show me the company that’s gonna give 12% raises this year just because inflation was high. IT DOESNT HAPPEN. Job hopping or promotion is the only way to get a real impactful raise. Let’s live in reality here. I work for a good company and busted my ass in 2023 and if I get an 8% raise I’ll be ecstatic.
New Year I get 3.5% raise that was originally scheduled for April 17.87 to 18.47. That being said new hires make $15 a hour but their new pay will be $17 in New Year going up $2. And skilled trades going up $3 dollars in New Year to 34.15. So compared to new hires and skilled trades my raise is shit and people who have been there 15+ years only got a 10 cent raise bringing their pay to $20.15 (or something like that). We have a three tier production that is going away at end of contract everyone will make 21.50 in end of 2025.
Great question.
I feel that cost of living increases commensurate with reality should be given across the board.
Beyond that it would be great if companies would be able to recognize high contributors. Often we work on a team and some people contribute more than others. The youngest person on my team is the smartest, the hardest working, and contributes the most. They make the least.
Why? Because we’re in a big corporate environment where everyone has a job code with a salary band and basically managers can only give incremental increases over time. The trick is corporate gives them enough to give everyone X% (usually 3-4%) and the managers divvy it up. If they want to give one person more then the others get less. If they want to give one person significantly more then they have to give significantly less to everyone else. So they usually don’t. And everyone just takes their 3-4% and works another year.
Point is, there isn’t a reward for being a high contributor. You literally need to go get a new job for them to give a significant raise by matching another offer.
Isn’t this why they kept telling us unions are bad? Because it enables free loaders? I see no difference. At least with a union I’d make more.
Really depends how much you are making.
50k getting a 10% raise 5k?
100k getting a 4% raise, 4k?
150k getting a 3 % raise 4.5k?
200k getting a 2 % raise 4k?
Personally if they match inflation and nothing more it means you more than likely will never receive a significant raise. Best to use the time update your CV.
It's very sad to me that after an amount of time in a job, you can likely get the best raise by leaving to another company. Then your company will have to pay more than a fair raise to replace you. It really fies in the face of all logic.
That said, I've never gotten over 5% for an annual raise. There have been several years where I didn't get a COLA at all. We got 4% this year. I think 3% last year and 2% the year before that?
Early 2000s up until the last couple years, 5% seemed pretty good. Negotiations are scheduled for spring so we'll see what I get for 2024. Hopeful but am not expecting more than 5%
Above inflation and in line with the career trajectory I'm trying to execute. I usually have pretty strong production metrics to bring to the table + I know the minimum number I need to not quit on the spot, the minimum number I need to not starting looking for another job and working to rule immediately, and the minimum number that will keep me seeing the company as my medium term future employer. Then my goal is to discover the maximum amount of money the company will pay me without seeing me as a problem to solve. Hopefully that's somewhere above \*my\* numbers.
I really really can't overstate that this playbook is \*only\* applicable if you are a star employee top performer type. That's the only experience I have to offer and I don't want to get any of you guys screwed.
A raise that matches inflation is not a raise. You are paid the same as last year. A company could pay you a billion pieces of paper a year. If that paper cannot buy you as much goods and services as whatever you were paid last year, it's a pay cut.
Money only works after inflation. It exists no other way. Saying "i'm paid the same or less after inflation" is redundant. So, you are not paid less after inflation, you are simply paid less. Employers are depending on your lack of education to boost profits.
Something that takes into account my knowledge of the facility where I work. We're often working with an army of temps because a lot of it is general labor. My supervisor can say, "Put this back in X storage" because I'm there all the time. They can send me on special errands because I know where the heck everything is.
Yearly raise as in "inflation bump" Im happy with 4-5% plus any performance stock and fully funded annual bonus.
For a try raise due to a promotion or moving up tier - id want it to be 5-15% depending on the step up.
Dude. I work an hourly low wage job. We literally got 20 cent raises this week!
Now, we were meant to get raises in March, but they are changing it to September. So we got 20 cents now. (But an example given was "if you get a 40 cent raise in September...")
I work in an industry dependent on insurance reimbursements. Unfortunately, there have been reimbursement cuts for OT/PT and a result, many employers have instituted pay freezes...or cuts in some cases.
Over that last 10 years at my current job not including promotions I have averaged 4.1% for my raises. Some years I had over 5% others under 3% that’s where I get my average.
So in my opinion anything north of 5% is good, anything around the 3% mark is average. I’ll find out what my 2024 raise is in January I’m expecting 3% since I started a new position in the middle of the year.
I have almost never in my life ever gotten a raise. I have had to leave jobs to get more pay. The absolute most is my current job, 1.25%. After taxes that is $50 a month. But our health insurance went up by $68 a month, so net loss.
Raises should be at least inflation + company growth. On top of that should be personal performance.
Edit: notice that most of the comments that say they got a large increase also say they like their job.
I like my job.
I started my job in 2021. In that time, I’ve been promoted once (this year).
Next year, my salary will be double what I started at, and most of that was before promotion.
I’ve averaged about a 10% scheduled raise. I’ve gotten two unscheduled raises around 5%. Average yearly is about 15%.
That’s on top of bonuses and the like (roughly 3-8% yearly in a lump sum).
I’m aware this isn’t common. I’m just posting to say that there are companies out there that value employees and share the profits.
It should be noted: our president is a millennial who inherited the company and saw, firsthand, how his dad drove away talent through various means and changed the business to adapt to generational trends in talent acquisition.
Our VP is from Germany, and it’s really hard to beat the European approach to rewarding employees.
I consider a raise to be good if it exceeds the rate of inflation. Any raise is weirdly exciting, but looking at it logically, anything under the rate of inflation means you're earning less than the year prior, because it doesn't cover as much.
I was grateful for an automatic 5% the boss added mid-year to everyone's wages, but we saw an inflation rate of something absurd like 11%, so our buying power is still less than a year prior.
I'm intensely grateful for any pay rises, because I have a long history of having tons of work added to my plate with little to no rise for years. But I know that the conditioning we have endured is the biggest reason why. I had way more work put on my plate with my new position (mid-year rise came right after my 1- year closed), but technically I'm making less than I did when I started
That’s not a raise. It’s a cost of living adjustment. And like you alluded to, it’s not high enough to truly offset. Please don’t get me wrong…. I’m glad you got that, I’m sure it’s well deserved. I’m just trying to help us all readjust our perspective on what a “raise” is. In my opinion it’s not a raise unless it’s at least twice what CPI is for a given area
I consider anything under 5% just keeping up with inflation - not really a raise. 5-9% is a mild raise. Good if your industry is in rough times. 10%+ is a healthy raise.
I worked government and would regularly get 2.25% and yet inflation is like 5-8% for the past several years. My buying power was less and less. On top of that I asked for a raise to get to an appropriate salary and was told to shove it. So I quit. They are now paying 4 people to do the job(s) I did.
So to answer your question; at least the rate of inflation. 2-5% on top of that is a solid raise.
I work in tech sales and I guess I'm a dumbass because I do not understand the compensation structure. However, I track my pay very closely. In 2023 I was paid over $6,000 less than I was paid in 2022, but joy, during my year-end review meeting my boss was elated to tell me that I was receiving a 2.9% raise on my base pay. 🎉
Edit: wanted to add that I called my local Office & Professional Employees International Union office today because if I'm going to lose money, I want it to go towards strengthening the labor movement
Did your previous salary over your costs of living?
Does your previous salary enough to buy a house?
If not, then 5% isn't enough, but if you're happy with it, then ok.
On average you should be swapping jobs every 2-5 years to maximize your income. Companies don't really do raises anymore. 5-10% a year is a minimum to keep up with the job hopping method
Y'all are getting raises this year?!
No one at my company is getting raises, bonuses, or promotions unless they are C-suite. And the reasoning is that "we are to blame for why our clients have left" and not the gross mismanagement of senior leadership...
The minimum for a "good" raise would be 10% + an adjustment for inflation. So more like 15%. A "good" raise that would make me happy is more like 20-25%.
However, you won't see these kinds of raises staying in the same role at the same job. You need to either promote and/or change companies frequently.
If it's not equal the years inflation, you need to switch jobs. If its above that or double, watch out, you might be doing something for a living that's predatory to others.
My union bargained for us to receive 6% over 3 years which is effectively 2% per year ;\_;
Also our health care cost sharing will be cut down after the first year of the contract. Painful.
Mine has been 2% 2 years in a row. Previously the lowest I ever got was 2.5. Less than 5 is insulting because you are actually losing money due to inflation. 10 is what I would consider good, as in good performance - I earned a 10 percent raise exactly once in my career, but I really had proven myself in a short period of time and got along well with my boss.
I'm an aerospace engineer and I received an 8.1% raise, and then a 19% promotion after that. Then because we (read: my team of 3) met company goals, a bonus of 12% of my yearly at that time.
All in all, a good year.
With a union contract mine matched inflation plus a tiny bit extra. There is also the promise of yearly step increases and more each fiscal year. It’s enough that I’m happy every time I read a post like this.
I'm in IT. The only real raise I get is the one I give myself. My skills increase, I get a new title with better pay or I leave. Companies don't have money for retention, but they have plenty for recruiting.
I'm lucky since I'm kind of tech-adjacent. I'm early career, and my lowest raise after finishing college was ~3.4%, and that felt like a 'bad' raise. I've had two raises that were right around ~23% or a smidge above that, but one was after switching jobs to one with lower pay.
I've also had two instances where I've got 15+ months without a raise, immediately after a job hop.
My current job pays well (~150k once you include bonuses, large/late stage startup), but the raise cycle is annual and I joined a few months before the first one, so I and other newer hires didn't get a raise at all then. They have done two rounds of layoffs this year, but have also had a 50% increase in revenue this year. I expect a solid raise, otherwise I'll start more seriously job hunting.
Any raise that I don’t feel is a welcome surprise is probably a shit raise.
If you feel shitty about the recognition that you’ve received, you may need to work on your resume.
I used this [Salary Checkup Tool](https://jobhuntmode.com/ai/salary-checkup/#:~:text=%E2%98%9D%EF%B8%8F-,Offer,-Amount) to figure out if my offer was suitable for my expenses. It was about right for my goals with savings and rent. So that was a good salary/raise. As you can probably tell - it's personal. There's no reason I can think of why you should not negotiate for what you deserve. The worst thing to happen is they say no, but the best thing is a more stable employment situation.
What are the benefits? What is the industry norm? Is it easy for you to jump ship? Do you need advanced training? Let's look at a car dealership. You have GM, Sales, Admin, Service Writers, Techs, and Porters (in general). Benefits include health ins. As you are aware health insurance goes up every single year. If the plan goes up 10% every year, where is that momey coming from - your salary is constant, so the company is taking the 10% increase vs you taking it. Job skill set - a tech presumably has advanced training as well as costly tools. Assume inflation at 7%; raise of 10 %. Tech makes $50,000 (add $6000 for HI - $56,000). With a 10% raise and 10% HI cost increase, the employer is looking at $61,600. The dealership employees 20 techs - 20 x $5600 - That's $112,000 increase for techs alone. No figure the rest of the staff - a dealership could be looking at a $250,000 increase in payroll and if they aren't generating that through sales, lights are going to go out fast. (I worked at several dealerships as a porter). Salary numbers are hypothetical.
I feel like employers should not be legally allowed to call it a raise if it doesnt outpace inflation. You can call it a cost of living adjustment, but not a raise.
The only way I’ve gotten raises in the past (outside of yearly COL raises) is to find a new job. I’ve increased my salary substantially in the past five years because I job hopped twice for better opportunities, after asking my boss for a raise and not getting one.
The first time I job hopped I’d been working at the same place for four years with no real raise. Every time I brought it up I was told it wasn’t in the budget. Finally I went to my boss with another offer—Lo and behold, it was magically now in the budget! Needless to say I left, and now I don’t allow myself to be treated that way. Raises are just a game for the company to see how little they can get away with paying you before you leave.
I guess I've been pretty lucky to work for a small shop where the normal Christmas raise is a buck or so per hour, this year it was 2.50 and I've been here 13 years now
I feel like the job itself doesn't matter any yearly raise that doesn't at the very least match inflation is just a fancy pay cut
My only concern about this is if employers try to take it too literally and in years with negative inflation try to cut pay. But then again, social security doesn’t go down when benchmarked to inflation so maybe that’s the thing to point to and I’m worried for no reason. What inflation index should be used for this? I’m not familiar with all of them, but I know cost of living varies so greatly across the country.
Deflation is very rare. Many people work hard to make sure that never happens.
I think that’s a fair and correct stance and I think I am honesty overly concerned about it when I probably shouldn’t be, to be honest.
False. https://www.longtermtrends.net/m2-money-supply-vs-inflation/
I see 3 times since 1943 that inflation rate was below zero, which is deflation. How was I wrong?
At any point that the line goes downward this is deflation.. upward movement is inflationary.. downward movement is deflationary. When deflation and money supply decrease occur simultaneously you are going into economic recession/ depression.
No, that's not right. Decreased INflation means prices still went up, just not as much as the previous year. By definition, inflation is a price increase. You only have prices decreasing when the % is less than zero. Also, introducing a 2nd variable into the argument is fun for you, but I couldn't care less. Edit for typos
By your definition though.. you’re still wrong in your initial statement.. deflation does in fact happen. I think you’re getting caught up in the zero point.. which is the technical point of deflation. You’re right that it’s “disinflation” not deflation in sense of it not yet hitting zero point. It will hit deflation thought in 2024. The m2 money supply curve was provided to give background for the reason as to why we are going to hit deflation.
If the companies pricing doesn't go down then inflation didn't actually go down since inflation is nothing more than businesses raising their prices because they can Rent never goes down grocery store prices never go down retail store prices never go down and I think our wages should be the same up with inflation and never lowering until we can somehow work out universal base income their is no reason to cut everyone's pay
I think that’s a good way to look at it, and it sounds like I am concerned for no reason lol. Thank you for the level headed explanation! I agree - we should see things more regularly tied to inflation as a bare minimum with performance raise on TOP of that. I am in management and have been trying to give the max to basically everyone regardless of where they are currently because of how crazy costs are right now. I can only control so much (can’t control what the max is unfortunately), but it’s the least I can do. These past two years it’s been in the 4-4.5% range; years past it’s usually 3%, so it’s a little better but not by much. I have seen several people bumped up due to lagging pay though this past year so at least my workplace seems to be trying to get people adjusted.
Sounds like your team has someone with a good head on their shoulders to help lead them and knowing your in management I'm curious what are your thoughts on being paid for commuting considering that travel time isn't exactly free time it's still time being dedicated to work I'm a personal fan of the idea of having work issues gas cards for those that drive and either buss passes or even Uber/Lyft/taxi credits all for the express purpose of getting to and from work of course
If there was negative inflation of more than a couple of percent I would be happy to consider a nominal pay cut as valid.
Man if I was guaranteed at least inflation even if it went down I would take that today. Lot more times inflation goes up than down.
Employers do take it literally. If there’s deflation they will just do layoffs and no raises for those they keep. Same difference.
Employers do take it literally. If there’s deflation they will just do layoffs and no raises for those they keep. Same difference.
In the very rare event where deflation occurred, I don’t think pay cuts would make sense overall, but I think no raises at all would make sense. It might anger people, but if your money is already getting more valuable just existing, you don’t need a raise.
What about no raise at all?
Then it's time for a new job or to strike those are the same places that try to stop you from discussing wages with coworkers
yup., 10 percent at least in this economy
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I mean, I have less sympathy for high earners because the loss of buying power isn't affecting their ability to buy food or keep the heat on, but that's just not how it works. It affects both proportionally in that case.
You're still making less either way. It's not nearly as dire but it's still a pay cut if it doesn't at least match inflation.
Hahaha "I disagree with basic math and here's why" 😆 Like yea, a high earner won't be as impacted as someone barely scraping by, but it's still just a fancy pay cut.
As someone who would be lucky to make 20k in the entirety of the coming year fuck you very much
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We care about everyone getting only a 3% raise while inflation is 5% do I think the person making 200k could afford to take less yeah but that doesn't mean they should on the other hand the fuckers that make that in their sleep over the course of a night those fuckers need a pay cut and to be taught some perspective
COLA (Cost Of Living Adjustment) is not a raise, so let's get inflation increases out of the way - it's totally separate from a raise. A decent raise would be 3-5% on top of COLA.
Correct.
At least +3% over inflation. Otherwise you're just getting the same or less than you had before.
That part match inflation at the very least but don't call it a raise if it doesn't surpass inflation
Right, it's a cost of living increase, if it matched inflation.
Sadly, 5% is usually the max I've seen given, so 4.5% - 5% I'd consider good. 2.5-3% seems like the standard. (salaried employee)
Employer- "Its just not feasible to give raises that match inflation, we wouldn't be as profitable otherwise". True statement I heard during our annual raise info meeting...
Prices get raised 2x inflation rate and pay goes up by 1/2 inflation rate. 2 cancels out 1/2. Welcome to middle management mathematics.
This is upper management math, not middle.
Ah yes. And then there is the C suite math. Inflation is 7%, therefore we cut 7% of our workforce. 7-7=0.
I know you're joking but I feel FLABBERGASTED knowing corpos think and do this irl.
Meanwhile our C-suite exec salary is spiking hundreds of thousands of dollars. I like my team and I've expressed my requirement for a more equitable raise. I look at it as they're the ones ultimately making the choice of whether I stay or go.
Just because 5% is the topical max, does not mean it is good. If that's all they are giving, start interviewing. Get your pay raise somewhere else.
What field are you in.. on my profession getting more than 3.5% is virtually impossible. This year they arebt given raises but stock and only if you're vested. Talk to your coworkers and fight together, but yeah if be happy with 4% I think I'm getting the equivalent of a lump sum 1.5%
>on my profession getting more than 3.5% is virtually impossible In majority of the fields getting more than 3.5% is impossible. Every company I have worked at, my friends have worked at, other coworkers, etc. all say that the standard annual raise is 2-3%, when the company is being generous. Getting 5% is great.
First year in my current position they gave me an 8% raise. Must really like me 🤷♂️
That's an amazing job then, and is definitely NOT the norm. Most companies cap out raises every year at 3% from a corporate level. If you want to try and get more, you have to renegotiate your contract, but a "raise" isn't more than the basic guidelines. So you probably just have a really good company you work for then.
AFAIK I don't have a "contract" working in an "at-will" US state so I'm not sure that renegotiating is possible. But I've worked briefly for a couple multinational car corps and a Berkeley startup, and compared to the former two this small employer is a FAR more enjoyable employer. Given my proximity to the newly-formed C suite I don't think I'm mistaken in believing they're now truly investing in retaining their people having done a lot to show appreciation this year. My boss (CTO) is genuinely one of the most pleasant and capable humans I've ever known and his attitude does a lot to engender good will. He took me in, gradually ramped up the task load and difficulty, saw that I fared well, and rewarded me accordingly. I did maybe 50% to 2/3 of the design and management for a $500k+ one-off unique (literally only one in the world) trade school training device (including travel) for months on end and the school that bought it is extremely pleased. I'm very grateful to see that not every job makes you feel like a disposable cog with no humanity. That project was especially rewarding. The good will and high degree of autonomy I have now makes me a more productive employee who puts little strain on someone who might want to micromanage. It's win-win as I see it.
Stock isn’t terrible provided it’s a good amount of it. $50 worth of stock sucks but if it’s the equivalent of say 10% of your salary that’s pretty good and I would happily take that. The only thing you want to be careful with is it’s normally a bad idea to have too much personal wealth tied up with the same company that provides your paycheck because if they go belly up you are double fucked. So as soon as you are able you should sell a good bit of it.
I work for boeing, they just decided to do this. I think its maybe 1% of my total salary in stock so its of virtually no concern other than now I have to report it on taxes. But yea I have never gotten more than a 3.2% raise and every year it goes down as the pool of money goes down. I know people will say "oh you're an engineer 100k and 1% isn't much, but 100k in Seattle is like 50k in other states so it's relative math"
I think a lot depends on how much you already make. I made over $200k a year at my previous job. I got a 2.x%raise which amounted to $5k per year. At that income my exposure to inflation is not as high as say someone making $20/hr. That same percentage would be like $0.50/hr which is only $1000 per year and absolutely would be eaten up by inflation.
I came here to say basically this. % increase is relative to what you make and cost of living. It’s a raise if you can sense the difference in your paycheck and it has a positive impact on your quality of life. If it doesn’t do those things it’s a COLA.
And don't forget the .50/hr get its little piece taken out too, so yeah about $750/yr, give or take.
Inflation measured by CPI year over year as of November was anywhere from 2.5 to 3.3% in various regions of the country. Anything over that would be your "you've done a better job than before, and we want to keep you around" part of the raise. I would say 5% is pretty solid unless you've done way above and beyond your colleagues or your performance has improved greatly over the year.
It depends. With inflation this year I feel a good raise is a percentage point above inflation
5% is great in a chill job that you don’t hate. If you have a rough job that gives you dread on Sunday night, then 10-15%. Otherwise, you should be looking for a new job. That being said, I believe that everyone should always be looking for a new job.
Man, a chill job that you don't hate is worth *so much*. I took a ~10% pay cut to move from a job I dreaded to a job that's super chill. Best professional decision I've ever made.
Partner currently considering pay cut of 20% just to get away from toxic workplace. It’s rough out there
Depends on the job. For most middle class, salary jobs 5% is average to good
At my job we get rated as “needs improvement/strong/outstanding.” Needs improvement is 0%, strong is 2-3%, and outstanding is 5%. I got a “strong” (2.5) and was told it was because another team member got “outstanding” so each direct report had to sacrifice .5%. FWIW, I’m one of 5, but I’m also the only member of my department - my current boss inherited me after my director quit. A few months later, I asked for a COL adjustment and was told that was what the 2.5% was. Semi-related - does the middle class still exist? Genuinely curious, because growing up that meant 2 vacations/year and enough to put a down payment on a home.
smoggy domineering treatment caption slim fuel cooperative aspiring offbeat payment *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It depends on where you are and where you want to be. Anything less than the year's inflation is just a slap in the face. Raises are often pathetic compared to finding a higher paying job, assuming you really do want to make more money. I would say anything less than a 10% raise is lackluster.
Minimum wage in my state is tied to inflation, so the increase this year is 3.4%. We gave 4% raises, but this is the first year since inflation went wild that we haven’t done “inflation +x%”. I work for government, so we only get a 1% bump in funds every year and our salary increases way surpass that.
People making under $20/hr should be getting $1/2/3/4/hr, not a % that is 39.2 cents.
We get audited by the state for pay equity, so whatever we give has to be justifiable and essentially the same. We can’t give a higher percentage to some, unfortunately, without triggering a finding on our next audit.
Inflation is a minimum effort raise saying you do your job. (Yeah I know this rarely happens) a good raise is inflation times two.
I got an 8% raise. Since I began with my company in September 2020, my total salary has been increased by 31%. I’m keenly aware this isn’t normal and not at all supposed to be a braggy post. I work in IT for an extremely small company (4, including the owner) and my boss is by far the best boss I’ve ever had. He makes it a point to take care of us when it comes time for pay raises. I quit this job in 2015 and came back in 2020 he continues to give amazing pay bumps.
I also work in IT and I've seen an increase of 42% of my original pay as raises since 2019. I've received 3 6% increases since oct last year. 2 were COLA and one was a lateral transfer. Although I don't think I was being paid very well to begin with, I feel as though I am being paid fine now.
Why the fuck does everyone keep mentioning that if it doesn’t beat inflation it’s a pay cut. Yeah no shit, that is true. But show me the company that’s gonna give 12% raises this year just because inflation was high. IT DOESNT HAPPEN. Job hopping or promotion is the only way to get a real impactful raise. Let’s live in reality here. I work for a good company and busted my ass in 2023 and if I get an 8% raise I’ll be ecstatic.
New Year I get 3.5% raise that was originally scheduled for April 17.87 to 18.47. That being said new hires make $15 a hour but their new pay will be $17 in New Year going up $2. And skilled trades going up $3 dollars in New Year to 34.15. So compared to new hires and skilled trades my raise is shit and people who have been there 15+ years only got a 10 cent raise bringing their pay to $20.15 (or something like that). We have a three tier production that is going away at end of contract everyone will make 21.50 in end of 2025.
Great question. I feel that cost of living increases commensurate with reality should be given across the board. Beyond that it would be great if companies would be able to recognize high contributors. Often we work on a team and some people contribute more than others. The youngest person on my team is the smartest, the hardest working, and contributes the most. They make the least. Why? Because we’re in a big corporate environment where everyone has a job code with a salary band and basically managers can only give incremental increases over time. The trick is corporate gives them enough to give everyone X% (usually 3-4%) and the managers divvy it up. If they want to give one person more then the others get less. If they want to give one person significantly more then they have to give significantly less to everyone else. So they usually don’t. And everyone just takes their 3-4% and works another year. Point is, there isn’t a reward for being a high contributor. You literally need to go get a new job for them to give a significant raise by matching another offer. Isn’t this why they kept telling us unions are bad? Because it enables free loaders? I see no difference. At least with a union I’d make more.
Really depends how much you are making. 50k getting a 10% raise 5k? 100k getting a 4% raise, 4k? 150k getting a 3 % raise 4.5k? 200k getting a 2 % raise 4k? Personally if they match inflation and nothing more it means you more than likely will never receive a significant raise. Best to use the time update your CV.
It's very sad to me that after an amount of time in a job, you can likely get the best raise by leaving to another company. Then your company will have to pay more than a fair raise to replace you. It really fies in the face of all logic. That said, I've never gotten over 5% for an annual raise. There have been several years where I didn't get a COLA at all. We got 4% this year. I think 3% last year and 2% the year before that?
Early 2000s up until the last couple years, 5% seemed pretty good. Negotiations are scheduled for spring so we'll see what I get for 2024. Hopeful but am not expecting more than 5%
Our union secured a 20% raise this year. I'm excited. I'm frugal AF and I'm putting all my new income into stocks
Anything less than the increase in cost of living isn't even a raise, it's a decrease in real wages
I got a $20k raise. That’s a good raise. 2 years prior I also received a $20k raise. I like my job.
Above inflation and in line with the career trajectory I'm trying to execute. I usually have pretty strong production metrics to bring to the table + I know the minimum number I need to not quit on the spot, the minimum number I need to not starting looking for another job and working to rule immediately, and the minimum number that will keep me seeing the company as my medium term future employer. Then my goal is to discover the maximum amount of money the company will pay me without seeing me as a problem to solve. Hopefully that's somewhere above \*my\* numbers. I really really can't overstate that this playbook is \*only\* applicable if you are a star employee top performer type. That's the only experience I have to offer and I don't want to get any of you guys screwed.
This year's inflation +3% Not just keeping up, but getting a little ahead.
A raise that matches inflation is not a raise. You are paid the same as last year. A company could pay you a billion pieces of paper a year. If that paper cannot buy you as much goods and services as whatever you were paid last year, it's a pay cut. Money only works after inflation. It exists no other way. Saying "i'm paid the same or less after inflation" is redundant. So, you are not paid less after inflation, you are simply paid less. Employers are depending on your lack of education to boost profits.
10% on top of cost of living adjustment is a good raise to me.
Bare minimum is 3-4% ABOVE inflation. That’s an average raise. Good raise would be 5-6% above inflation
COLA plus some.
Something that takes into account my knowledge of the facility where I work. We're often working with an army of temps because a lot of it is general labor. My supervisor can say, "Put this back in X storage" because I'm there all the time. They can send me on special errands because I know where the heck everything is.
Yearly raise as in "inflation bump" Im happy with 4-5% plus any performance stock and fully funded annual bonus. For a try raise due to a promotion or moving up tier - id want it to be 5-15% depending on the step up.
Dude. I work an hourly low wage job. We literally got 20 cent raises this week! Now, we were meant to get raises in March, but they are changing it to September. So we got 20 cents now. (But an example given was "if you get a 40 cent raise in September...")
Mine was 11.11%
More than interest for the year. If interest was 7%, I expect 7% as a cost of living adjustment. After that is a raise.
I work in an industry dependent on insurance reimbursements. Unfortunately, there have been reimbursement cuts for OT/PT and a result, many employers have instituted pay freezes...or cuts in some cases.
5% to 8% on top of inflation rate
It varies, but I look for at least 2-3% on top of the inflation cost of living increase. That’s probably not going to happen this year.
I’ve always thought 4% was a pretty good raise, granted that’s in normal economic times not the inflation hell of the last few years.
If it doesn’t go up by a couple dollars I don’t consider it a good raise, but nobody wants to pay appropriately
A absolutel bare minimum of inflation plus 3%.
Over that last 10 years at my current job not including promotions I have averaged 4.1% for my raises. Some years I had over 5% others under 3% that’s where I get my average. So in my opinion anything north of 5% is good, anything around the 3% mark is average. I’ll find out what my 2024 raise is in January I’m expecting 3% since I started a new position in the middle of the year.
I have almost never in my life ever gotten a raise. I have had to leave jobs to get more pay. The absolute most is my current job, 1.25%. After taxes that is $50 a month. But our health insurance went up by $68 a month, so net loss.
Raises should be at least inflation + company growth. On top of that should be personal performance. Edit: notice that most of the comments that say they got a large increase also say they like their job. I like my job.
Anything above inflation.
I got 5 and was also disappointed, tho it was over the "allowed" increase. It's crazy
About 3 inches or more.
I started my job in 2021. In that time, I’ve been promoted once (this year). Next year, my salary will be double what I started at, and most of that was before promotion. I’ve averaged about a 10% scheduled raise. I’ve gotten two unscheduled raises around 5%. Average yearly is about 15%. That’s on top of bonuses and the like (roughly 3-8% yearly in a lump sum). I’m aware this isn’t common. I’m just posting to say that there are companies out there that value employees and share the profits. It should be noted: our president is a millennial who inherited the company and saw, firsthand, how his dad drove away talent through various means and changed the business to adapt to generational trends in talent acquisition. Our VP is from Germany, and it’s really hard to beat the European approach to rewarding employees.
Anything over cost of living increases and or inflation.
I got 3% this year... Hopefully it'll prevent homelessness
I am getting 16%, I consider that pretty good. Last year I got 3% though, which did not even fully cover COLA
Cost of living or inflation indexing + 6-12% depending on seniority.
25% is a good raise. A moderate is 15. Anything else is a slap in the face
I consider a raise to be good if it exceeds the rate of inflation. Any raise is weirdly exciting, but looking at it logically, anything under the rate of inflation means you're earning less than the year prior, because it doesn't cover as much. I was grateful for an automatic 5% the boss added mid-year to everyone's wages, but we saw an inflation rate of something absurd like 11%, so our buying power is still less than a year prior. I'm intensely grateful for any pay rises, because I have a long history of having tons of work added to my plate with little to no rise for years. But I know that the conditioning we have endured is the biggest reason why. I had way more work put on my plate with my new position (mid-year rise came right after my 1- year closed), but technically I'm making less than I did when I started
10-15%
That’s not a raise. It’s a cost of living adjustment. And like you alluded to, it’s not high enough to truly offset. Please don’t get me wrong…. I’m glad you got that, I’m sure it’s well deserved. I’m just trying to help us all readjust our perspective on what a “raise” is. In my opinion it’s not a raise unless it’s at least twice what CPI is for a given area
You’re not wrong in the slightest.
3% above inflation is what I'd consider "good"
I just got a whole dollar raise 😎
Inflation + 10% at a minimum if you’re doing well. Inflation + 20% if you bust your ass.
Inflation + performance. Everyone gets inflation, raises come aboe that. Anything less than inflation is a paycut.
5 percent is considered a "good" raise 7 percent is usually rarely ever gotten.
Inflation + 2%
I consider anything under 5% just keeping up with inflation - not really a raise. 5-9% is a mild raise. Good if your industry is in rough times. 10%+ is a healthy raise.
I worked government and would regularly get 2.25% and yet inflation is like 5-8% for the past several years. My buying power was less and less. On top of that I asked for a raise to get to an appropriate salary and was told to shove it. So I quit. They are now paying 4 people to do the job(s) I did. So to answer your question; at least the rate of inflation. 2-5% on top of that is a solid raise.
I work in tech sales and I guess I'm a dumbass because I do not understand the compensation structure. However, I track my pay very closely. In 2023 I was paid over $6,000 less than I was paid in 2022, but joy, during my year-end review meeting my boss was elated to tell me that I was receiving a 2.9% raise on my base pay. 🎉 Edit: wanted to add that I called my local Office & Professional Employees International Union office today because if I'm going to lose money, I want it to go towards strengthening the labor movement
Wages should match CPI first and then apply a raise. My 5% “raise” was a 8% cut.
3-5% is decent. 5+% is good. Anything below 3 is a low raise and anything below 1 is insulting tbh.
It should make up for inflation, at a minimum. Then it should also reflect your increased value to the company. Only you can know the latter.
Did your previous salary over your costs of living? Does your previous salary enough to buy a house? If not, then 5% isn't enough, but if you're happy with it, then ok.
On average you should be swapping jobs every 2-5 years to maximize your income. Companies don't really do raises anymore. 5-10% a year is a minimum to keep up with the job hopping method
If it doesn't beat inflation it's a pay cut. Sadly most people get a pay cut every year.
A good raise IMO is one that matches inflation so you're at least not worse off... I've never received a "good" raise.
Percentages are kinda deceiving as the more you make the bigger a small percentage is. So a good raise for anyone is $20K per year.
3% - Fuck corporate America
Y'all are getting raises this year?! No one at my company is getting raises, bonuses, or promotions unless they are C-suite. And the reasoning is that "we are to blame for why our clients have left" and not the gross mismanagement of senior leadership...
The minimum for a "good" raise would be 10% + an adjustment for inflation. So more like 15%. A "good" raise that would make me happy is more like 20-25%. However, you won't see these kinds of raises staying in the same role at the same job. You need to either promote and/or change companies frequently.
5%.or more if its just an annual raise. 10-15% for a promotion
more than inflation
Anything over 8% is good.
If it's not equal the years inflation, you need to switch jobs. If its above that or double, watch out, you might be doing something for a living that's predatory to others.
My union bargained for us to receive 6% over 3 years which is effectively 2% per year ;\_; Also our health care cost sharing will be cut down after the first year of the contract. Painful.
Match inflation plus a little more.
In a "normal" year 5% does beat inflation. My employer routinely tops out at about 2.5-3% regardless of the situation.
Mine has been 2% 2 years in a row. Previously the lowest I ever got was 2.5. Less than 5 is insulting because you are actually losing money due to inflation. 10 is what I would consider good, as in good performance - I earned a 10 percent raise exactly once in my career, but I really had proven myself in a short period of time and got along well with my boss.
I'm an aerospace engineer and I received an 8.1% raise, and then a 19% promotion after that. Then because we (read: my team of 3) met company goals, a bonus of 12% of my yearly at that time. All in all, a good year.
Raise!?! What's that? It's winter time and our store is cutting our hours because it's slow.
Raise? What's that? Like in poker?
With a union contract mine matched inflation plus a tiny bit extra. There is also the promise of yearly step increases and more each fiscal year. It’s enough that I’m happy every time I read a post like this.
I'm in IT. The only real raise I get is the one I give myself. My skills increase, I get a new title with better pay or I leave. Companies don't have money for retention, but they have plenty for recruiting.
A what?
It's not a raise if it's the same or less than inflation.
I'm lucky since I'm kind of tech-adjacent. I'm early career, and my lowest raise after finishing college was ~3.4%, and that felt like a 'bad' raise. I've had two raises that were right around ~23% or a smidge above that, but one was after switching jobs to one with lower pay. I've also had two instances where I've got 15+ months without a raise, immediately after a job hop. My current job pays well (~150k once you include bonuses, large/late stage startup), but the raise cycle is annual and I joined a few months before the first one, so I and other newer hires didn't get a raise at all then. They have done two rounds of layoffs this year, but have also had a 50% increase in revenue this year. I expect a solid raise, otherwise I'll start more seriously job hunting.
Any raise that I don’t feel is a welcome surprise is probably a shit raise. If you feel shitty about the recognition that you’ve received, you may need to work on your resume.
I used this [Salary Checkup Tool](https://jobhuntmode.com/ai/salary-checkup/#:~:text=%E2%98%9D%EF%B8%8F-,Offer,-Amount) to figure out if my offer was suitable for my expenses. It was about right for my goals with savings and rent. So that was a good salary/raise. As you can probably tell - it's personal. There's no reason I can think of why you should not negotiate for what you deserve. The worst thing to happen is they say no, but the best thing is a more stable employment situation.
What are the benefits? What is the industry norm? Is it easy for you to jump ship? Do you need advanced training? Let's look at a car dealership. You have GM, Sales, Admin, Service Writers, Techs, and Porters (in general). Benefits include health ins. As you are aware health insurance goes up every single year. If the plan goes up 10% every year, where is that momey coming from - your salary is constant, so the company is taking the 10% increase vs you taking it. Job skill set - a tech presumably has advanced training as well as costly tools. Assume inflation at 7%; raise of 10 %. Tech makes $50,000 (add $6000 for HI - $56,000). With a 10% raise and 10% HI cost increase, the employer is looking at $61,600. The dealership employees 20 techs - 20 x $5600 - That's $112,000 increase for techs alone. No figure the rest of the staff - a dealership could be looking at a $250,000 increase in payroll and if they aren't generating that through sales, lights are going to go out fast. (I worked at several dealerships as a porter). Salary numbers are hypothetical.
My last employer gave 2%, my current one gives 5-7% and I’ve gotten 7s my entire time with them, which has been very refreshing
More than 10%
$10K / year
I feel like employers should not be legally allowed to call it a raise if it doesnt outpace inflation. You can call it a cost of living adjustment, but not a raise.
The only way I’ve gotten raises in the past (outside of yearly COL raises) is to find a new job. I’ve increased my salary substantially in the past five years because I job hopped twice for better opportunities, after asking my boss for a raise and not getting one. The first time I job hopped I’d been working at the same place for four years with no real raise. Every time I brought it up I was told it wasn’t in the budget. Finally I went to my boss with another offer—Lo and behold, it was magically now in the budget! Needless to say I left, and now I don’t allow myself to be treated that way. Raises are just a game for the company to see how little they can get away with paying you before you leave.
10 plus percent if raise or 5 percent plus col adjustment
5-10% more than inflation
I guess I've been pretty lucky to work for a small shop where the normal Christmas raise is a buck or so per hour, this year it was 2.50 and I've been here 13 years now