CEOs average pay in 2021 was 324 times higher than employees

CEOs of the top 500 companies in the U.S. earned 324 times more money in 2021 than their employees, with executive compensation climbing $2.8 million dollars in the past year on average as worker wages declined, according to an AFL-CIO report.

While the report found that real worker wages fell 2.4 percent in 2021 after adjusting for inflation, the average compensation for the top CEOs in the nation last year was $18.3 million, a more than $5 million increase over the past decade. READ MORE

These were the highest-paying Silicon Valley tech companies in 2021

Silicon Valley is synonymous with a strong concentration of wealth, both for the tech companies that populate the area — with some of the highest valuations in the world — and for its employees, who are also paid incredibly handsomely. 

Although the rising costs of living are driving some Bay Area residents out, the opportunities — and compensation — in tech are too abundant for a certain demographic to ignore. Companies like Meta (formerly Facebook), Apple and Google have long held reputations for generously paying their employees. But as the tech space approaches a saturation point, are other employers becoming competitive? READ MORE

Employers budgeting big pay raises for 2023

In response to a tight labor market, employers are planning to up employee salaries in the biggest projected hike in 15 years, new data from Willis Towers Watson finds.

Although it’s a new recent high, it’s not by much: Companies, on average, are budgeting a 4.1% salary increase for 2023, just above this year’s average 4% increase. The 2022 and 2023 salary increases are the largest since the Great Recession of 2008, according to the consulting firm, which surveyed 1,430 employers for insights in April and May. READ MORE

Ernst and Young has major payroll ‘error’: Employees’ paychecks reversed

Ernst & Young employees who got their paychecks last week suddenly discovered that the funds were reversed from their bank accounts, as the accountant giant on Tuesday worked with its payroll vendor to fix the issue.

One of the “Big Four” accounting firms, with offices in Boston and Cambridge, blamed its payroll vendor ADP for the reversal of payroll funds from employees’ accounts. READ MORE

UK workers suffer their biggest pay drop in two decades as inflation bites

Workers in the United Kingdom are struggling with the biggest drop in pay in more than two decades, as surging food and energy prices take a giant bite out of wages.

Real pay — workers' wages that take inflation into account — slumped by 2.8% between March and May compared to the same time last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. READ MORE

Lower-cost U.S. cities drove pandemic wage gains

Big wage gains for lower-paid U.S. workers, a hallmark of the pandemic economy, were concentrated in less expensive cities, according to a new study that points to another potential stumbling block in getting the job market fully back to normal.

The study, released on Thursday by payroll processor ADP, analyzed wage gains in U.S. cities before and after the coronavirus pandemic for salaried workers in the bottom 5% of the wage distribution. READ MORE

Bad news, good news: Salary budgets for 2023 are going up!

Despite the likelihood of the recession that’s looming in the not-too-distant future, 64% of U.S. companies plan to budget for an overall average salary increase of 4.1% in 2023. That’s up slightly from 2022 (4.0%) and the highest since the Great Recession of 2008.

And it’s all thanks to the Great Resignation that created a tight labor market that has more job openings than bodies to fill them. READ MORE

Should You Accept Stock In Lieu Of A Higher Salary?

If you, like millions of Americans, work for a startup or in the tech industry, you have likely been offered a grant of options or restricted stock units (RSUs) when you got your job offer.

Kyle Holm is the vice president of total rewards advisory at Sequoia Consulting Group, which works with clients on designing their compensation programs. He said in technology and life sciences industries, offering a grant of options is a very common scenario. READ MORE

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act did little to affect executive pay, counter to what Congress intended

Through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Congress attempted to curb CEO pay by repealing a long-standing exemption that allowed companies to deduct large amounts of qualified performance-based pay. New research finds the change has had little effect, with CEO pay either staying the same or growing after the law made it more costly to award executives with high levels of compensation. READ MORE

Small Biz Hiring and Wages Continue Growth

Small businesses continued to add jobs in June and worker wages continued to grow at a strong rate, but the pace of growth moderated slightly from previous month. These insights are according to the latest Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch. The Small Business Jobs Index for June was 100.81, up 2.32 percent from over a year ago and -0.06 percent from the previous month. Average hourly earnings growth for the month stood at 5.10 percent, compared to 5.16 percent from May 2022. READ MORE