10 highest-paying IT skills for 2023

Digital transformation is at the forefront of every modern business strategy, whether it’s adopting the cloud, improving and updating IT infrastructure, or developing data and analytics strategy to drive decision-making. Companies are interested in hiring seasoned pros who have a strong working knowledge of the skills they need to accomplish technology and business goals. READ MORE

Gen Zers and millennials who make more than $100,000 a year explain how they spend their salaries

Many millennials and Gen Zers dream of the day they can wake up and say, "I made it." Some say a higher salary is the key to reaching this goal.

Gen Zers, the oldest of whom are 26, are just entering the workforce, while many millennials, who are 27 to 42, are well into their careers. A SmartAsset analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the third quarter of last year found that the median salary of a 25- to 34-year-old in the US was $52,156, while the median salary of a 35- to 44-year-old was $62,244. READ MORE

White House wants to ban use of salary history in setting pay for new federal hires

Whether one’s paycheck can keep pace with inflation is always a concern. But for women, the question is also can their pay keep pace with their male peers?

On Wednesday, the White House Office of Personnel Management proposed regulations to prohibit managers at federal agencies from considering a new hire’s salary history when setting their pay for a position. READ MORE

Microsoft skips salary increases for full-time employees this year

Microsoft will hold off on offering salary increases to full-time employees, CEO Satya Nadella told staffers by email Wednesday.

The move aligns with Microsoft’s efforts to reduce costs as revenue growth slows and clients reel in spending. In January, the software maker said it would cut 10,000 jobs, or just under 5% of its workforce. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and other tech companies have downsized as well in recent months. READ MORE

How do you know a company is accurately rewarding the CEO for climate targets?

The compensation of high-ranking corporate executives is being increasingly tied to environmental targets, but a lack of standardized data and disclosure is making the effectiveness of such goals difficult to track and may even be opening the way for some to game the system, governance experts warn.

Two-thirds of companies in the S&P/TSX 60 index use one or more environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics in compensation plans for CEOs or other executive officers, according to a January 2023 study by law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. READ MORE

Is Executive Compensation the Answer to ESG Accountability?

Across the global business landscape, companies are devoting enormous attention to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues. Driven by concerns around employee well-being, social unrest, climate change and geopolitical turmoil, they face intense pressure to improve their ESG efforts from shareholders, social activists, consumers, regulatory bodies, employees and the media.

Within this context, the idea of putting one’s money where their mouth is has been gaining traction among companies when it comes to achieving ESG goals. Increasingly, companies are integrating non-financial ESG factors into executive compensation programs as a way to drive accountability toward goals and respond to the concerns of investors and others. READ MORE

Is the US Moving Towards National Pay Transparency Legislation?

Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced the “Salary Transparency Act,” HR 1599, a significant piece of pay transparency legislation, which would require all employers nationwide to disclose pay ranges in job listings, provide wage ranges to job applicants, and provide that same information to existing employees. The legislation is intended to close the gender pay gap and applies to all organizations, regardless of size and number of employees. 

HR 1599 has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.  READ MORE

Corporate pay practices aren’t meeting employee needs, analysis suggests

Corporate pay strategies have shifted due to remote work and inflation in recent years, leading to pay inequities and compensation inconsistencies at many companies, according to a May 4 report from The Josh Bersin Co.

Standard pay bands and performance-based pay models have fallen behind. Instead, corporate compensation should consider fairness, transparency, inflation and a systemic approach, the analysis recommended. READ MORE

2023 U.S. Total Compensation Increases Averaged 4.1%

U.S. employers shelled out total compensation increases that averaged 4.1% and merit increases that averaged 3.8% in 2023 to remain competitive in a strong labor market.  

This is according to Mercer’s “March 2023 U.S. Compensation Planning SurveyOpen in a new tab,” which noted that while the 2023 compensation increases are the largest employers have provided since the 2008 financial crisis, the increases fell slightly short of what employers were projecting during November 2022.  READ MORE

SEC T+1 Rule May Affect Tax Withholding for Equity Compensation

The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted a final rule that eventually will shorten the standard settlement cycle for most broker-dealer securities transactions to one business day after the trade date (T+1) from two business days (T+2) . This rule could affect tax withholding and deposit rules for certain equity awards.

Under the IRS’ latest informal guidance, from Generic Legal Advice Memorandum 2020-004 in May 2020, withholding obligations for both federal income taxes and payroll taxes under the Federal Insurance Contribution Act for certain stock-settled equity awards arise on the day when the award either is exercised (in the case of stock options or stock-settled stock appreciation rights) or when the employer initiates payment of the award (in the case of restricted stock units). READ MORE

Stock Option Repricing Considerations

Options can be a valuable equity-based incentive and form of compensation for a privately-held company. However, when a private company receives a lower 409A valuation - due to financial performance or market volatility - its outstanding stock options may become "underwater." Options are considered underwater when the fair market value of a company's stock price drops below the exercise (“strike”) price of the outstanding option. Underwater options can be problematic to a company and its shareholders READ MORE

Fed researchers: $15 minimum wage in Minneapolis and St. Paul boosted pay — but cost jobs

The push to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in both Minneapolis and St. Paul has successfully boosted the average worker’s hourly pay in both cities, but it has also led to sharp drops in the numbers of available jobs and hours worked, new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has found.

Many economists have reached similar conclusions about minimum wage increases in the past. Still, the size of the impacts the researchers measured — by comparing Minneapolis and St. Paul to data culled from other Minnesota cities from 2017 through 2021 — were eye-popping, especially in low-wage industries. READ MORE

$7.25 federal minimum wage is a ‘national disgrace,’ says Sen. Bernie Sanders, backing push for $17 per hour

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has not changed in nearly 14 years.

Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders, unveiled a new plan to update the national pay rate, which he said is currently a “national disgrace.”

This time, prompted by high inflation, he is calling for $17 per hour, a $2 increase from the $15 per hour for which he and other Democrats had previously advocated. READ MORE

The exact six-figure salary that Gen Z and millennials need to feel like they’ve ‘made it’

As a child, it was easy to fantasize about the many things that would symbolize reaching success.

Perhaps it was being able to buy any clothing you liked without having to look at the price tag, or if you were really aspirational, a collection of vintage sports cars, or (probably more realistically) being able to buy as much candy as you could carry home. READ MORE

5 Tips for Answering Salary Questions in a Job Interview

Salary discussions are the trickiest part of the already stressful job interview process -- and not just because the topic makes some people uncomfortable. Tipping your hand the wrong way at the wrong time can ruin your prospects or force you to settle for less.

"Sharing salary expectations can work against job seekers in receiving a fair offer," said Brandon Bramley, founder of The Salary Negotiator. "If the candidate shares a lower compensation than what the company could offer, they are more likely to receive that low compensation. On the other hand, if they suggest a higher number than what the company could offer, there is a possibility that the company may lose interest and look for other candidates." READ MORE

MBA grads reliably earn a six-figure salary in these 6 industries

Students pursuing an MBA often hope to land a job with a six-figure salary after graduation. And that’s warranted; in 2022, the average starting salary for MBA graduates was $115,000, more than 53% higher than the $75,000 average for people who only have a bachelor’s degree, according to Graduate Management Admission Council data. And graduates from top-ranked MBA programs can earn even more, with starting pay packages of $200,000 and up in 2022. READ MORE

As inflation chews up worker pay, top CEOs got 7.7% raise last year

For nearly two years, worker pay in the U.S. has fallen short of crushing increases in the cost of living. But a handful of the highest-paid CEOs have comfortably stayed ahead of inflation.

Average pay for top chief executives last year rose 7.7%, according to a report from Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. That raise comfortably beat out inflation, which was 6.4% in December. READ MORE