What’s Going On With Salary Increases And Inflation In 2026?

Salary budgets in 2026 are stabilizing as boards and senior leaders move beyond the short-term adjustments of recent years. Inflation remains volatile in many countries, reflecting varied conditions in markets around the world. Recently released data suggest leaders are returning to measured, disciplined salary increases, with fewer signs of reactive or inflation-driven spikes. READ MORE

Which College Majors Offer the Highest and Lowest Early-Career Salaries? Key Differences Explained

Few college majors pay better after graduation than computer engineering.

The major also shows why more high school graduates are questioning whether a bachelor’s degree is worth it: computer engineers earn the highest early-career median wage of any major, $90,000, but they also face an unemployment rate of 7.8%, one of the highest the Federal Reserve Bank of New York tracks. READ MORE

Cost of true love? Americans say it takes a six-figure salary

A quarter of Americans believe their financial situation has stopped them from finding “true love,” according to new research.

That was revealed in a new survey of 2,000 general population Americans, which examined the intersection of finances, dating and finding love.

Younger respondents were more likely to believe their finances have prevented them from finding “true love,” with 40% of Gen Z admitting this, compared to just 11% of baby boomers. READ MORE

What MBA Graduates Should Do if Salary Negotiations Fail

Few salary negotiations end exactly as employees hope. A request for a raise may be rejected, postponed or met with a counteroffer that forces an employee to rethink their options. While such outcomes can feel disappointing, career advisers say they are often the beginning of a broader conversation about an employee's future within an organization.

The key is resisting the temptation to treat the outcome as purely personal. READ MORE

The truth behind the oft-misunderstood equity compensation plan

George Gershwin’s It Ain’t Necessarily So, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, debuted in Porgy and Bess in 1935. The song playfully questioned whether accepted truths were, in fact, true at all.

Regular column readers know that we often say the same thing about employment contracts. What appears to be clear on paper frequently turns out to be legally unenforceable. READ MORE

Nike’s $7.5 million pay bias verdict a warning to HR

A federal jury in Portland found that Nike violated the Equal Pay Act and Oregon law by paying former engineer Heather Hender less than male colleagues and promoting her more slowly because of her gender, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Jurors ordered Nike to pay Hender $19,739.52 in back pay and at least $7.5 million in punitive damages, local news station KGW reported, a figure that exceeds the $2 million her attorneys had requested. READ MORE

How companies decide between incentive and nonqualified stock options

Stock options are a common form of equity compensation that give employees the right to buy company stock at a set price. Two of the most widely used structures are incentive stock options (ISOs) and nonqualified stock options (NSOs). While both can help align employee and company interests, they differ in eligibility rules, tax treatment and administrative requirements—differences employers should understand before designing or revising a stock option plan.

Stock options tend to be an effective compensation tool for two primary reasons: Employees must invest their own capital to exercise options, which reinforces their long term commitment to the company. And options generally provide value only if the company’s stock price increases, encouraging employees to focus on enhancing overall business value. READ MORE

Should You Exercise Your Stock Options Now — Or Wait?

Employee stock options can be a great perk. Even a life-changing one. But the multiple variables at play make it hard to know if and when to exercise your options.

Your stock options give you the right to exercise, but you’re never obligated to do so. Assuming you stay employed at the company, you can exercise your options at any time between when they vest and when they expire — typically, this will span up to 10 years. If you’re leaving your employer, check the fine print in your options contract to see what time frame you have to exercise; this is usually referred to as the “post-termination exercise period.” READ MORE

Public Accounting Salary Growth is Shifting – The Biggest Increases May Come Later than Expected

Salary progression in public accounting may no longer follow the steady path many professionals expect, according to new placement data from specialist recruitment firm Distinct.

Drawing on more than 400 public accounting placements completed across North America during the past three years, the analysis suggests compensation growth often slows considerably at Senior level before increasing significantly once professionals move into management. READ MORE

Here’s how to use salary-transparency laws to get paid more

Salary negotiations used to begin with one side knowing exactly how much the job paid, and the other side taking a guess. But now, more states are leveling the playing field.

Virginia and Maine are the latest to require many employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings, bringing the total to 18 states and Washington, D.C. Virginia’s new salary-transparency law went into effect on July 1, while Maine’s will go live on July 29. For job seekers, that means walking into salary negotiations with a better idea of what an employer is willing to pay. READ MORE

The Best College Degree for Paying Off Student Loans Quickly, Based on Salary and Debt Rankings

About 6.6 million student loan borrowers are behind on payments, and the problem is worsening, as borrowers over 50 now have the highest serious delinquency rates of any age group. The difference between struggling for decades and paying off your loans in a few years often comes down to one decision—your major.

Investopedia ranked different bachelor’s degree majors utilizing median wages in early career, as recorded by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the amount of student loan debt per bachelor’s degree, as calculated by the Education Data Initiative. READ MORE

See the $600 Million World of Executive Perks

An estimated $20,000 in free booze. More than $100,000 in free sports-event tickets. Extensive personal use of a company-owned hunting ranch.

Perks—the often-lavish extras layered on top of executive pay—are booming. Among the 500 largest public companies, spending on four of the biggest-ticket perks has surged since 2021, according to research firm Equilar, led by a more than doubling in the median cost of executive security. READ MORE

Boom in tech wealth is fueling record prices for dinosaur bones, art and watches

The major auction houses racked up nearly $10 billion in sales in the first half, marking one of the strongest-ever starts to the year as the wealthy gained confidence from soaring financial stock markets.

Sotheby’s reported its best first half ever, with $4.4 billion in sales, up 58% from last year and marking a record for the 282-year-old auction house. Christie’s had its best first half since 2021, reporting sales of $4.5 billion, up 71%. Phillips, Heritage and other auctioneers also had breakout starts to the year. READ MORE

What is the average salary in the US?

Familiar with the concept of salary transparency? It’s used to encourage more open conversations about what companies are paying their workers. Knowing about the average salary in the US could shed light on whether you’re being underpaid. It could also help you make more informed choices as you apply for new jobs or ask for a raise. Just know that earnings vary depending on age, sex, location, and education, among other factors. Here’s how much the average American makes. READ MORE

Companies see strong support for executive pay programs through June 30, 2026

Average support increased from just over 90% at this time last year to 91.8% as of June 30, 2026. The failure rate went down from 1.4% at this time last year to less than 1% this year. And proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended against a lower percentage of proposals.

The trend toward higher levels of support might continue into the 2027 proxy season but the waning influence of proxy advisors may result in more uncertainty. It’s critical that companies stay up to date on changing investor voting policies and patterns and proactively engage with them to understand their priorities and concerns. READ MORE

SEC Compensation Recovery Rule: Restatements and Related Clawbacks, Quarterly Update

SEC Rule 10D-1 – often referred to as the compensation clawback rule — requires public companies to adopt policies to recover excess incentive compensation that was paid to current or former executives because it was based on metrics that were later restated. Created under the Dodd-Frank Act, the rule aims to reinforce accountability by requiring the recoupment of bonus or performance-based compensation tied to incorrect results, regardless of whether the error was caused by simple mistakes or misconduct. It applies to both material (“Big R”) and immaterial (“little r”) restatements.

The rule also adds disclosure requirements: companies have to flag on the cover page of their annual reports when the filing reflects corrections to past financial statements, explain whether and how they pursued recovery of excess compensation, and include their clawback policy as an exhibit to the annual report. READ MORE

Average CHRO pay is now $3.7M. Who are the top-paid?

CHRO responsibility has skyrocketed in recent years, and compensation trends underscore how organizations are increasingly viewing CHRO compensation through the lens of business performance.

A new study from Equilar on CHRO compensation at the largest U.S. public companies by revenue found the average pay package last year was $3.7 million, down from about $4.4 million in 2024. The value of stock awards, which was the largest component of pay, stayed about the same—at $2 million—which researchers say highlights that organizations are weighing CHRO contributions to business outcomes “heavily.” Meanwhile, cash bonuses decreased slightly from $896,256 to $864,610, and median base salaries also decreased from $694,167 to $674,688. READ MORE