NEW YORK—Employees are more satisfied with their nonwage benefits and promotion opportunities compared with a year ago, according to survey data released from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Satisfaction with nonwage benefits and with promotion opportunities at respondents’ current jobs improved by 0.6 and 3.0 percentage points to 63.2% and 49.5%, respectively. However, satisfaction with wage compensation at respondents’ current jobs deteriorated. Satisfaction with wage compensation was down to 56.9% from 58.2% in July 2021.
According to the survey, it would take employees a minimum salary of nearly $73,000 to accept a new job. The average reservation wage continued its upward annual trend and reached $72,873 from $68,954 in July 2021. The bank’s monthly survey recorded its highest reading of $73,283 in March 2022, and then slightly retreated in July 2022. The year-over-year increase was most pronounced for younger (below age 45) respondents, college graduates and men.
The rate of transitioning to a different employer declined to 4.1% from 5.9% in July 2021. However, the proportion of individuals who reported searching for a job in the past four weeks rose to 24.7% from 24.0% in July 2021. The increase was driven by respondents younger than age 45 and those with a college degree.
The average full-time offer wage received in the past four months climbed to $60,764 from $58,469 in July 2021. The survey found that 21.1% of individuals reported receiving at least one job offer in the past four months, up from 18.7% in July 2021. The expected likelihood of moving to a new employer increased to 11%, from 10.3% in July 2021, while the average expected likelihood of moving to unemployment declined to 2.3% from 2.5%. The decline in the expected likelihood of moving to unemployment was most pronounced for women.
Quartz reports that Americans anticipate more money from employers because the labor market is still tight. The U.S. added 528,000 jobs in July, which was more than analysts projected and brings payroll back to pre-pandemic levels. However, total job openings remained well above the number of unemployed workers looking for a job in July.
Some economists believe workers will continue to look for jobs as inflation weighs on households. Many people who previously retired have re-entered the workforce due to rising prices. ZipRecruiter found that among the 21.5% of current job seekers who say that they previously retired at some point, 35.8% ranked inflation as the top reason that they have returned to the job market. An additional 26.2% said that they are rejoining the workforce because they are running out of retirement savings.
NACS hosted three webinars in June that discussed innovative ways to address the labor shortage facing the convenience retailing industry. Convenience retailers also can access the Good Jobs Calculator, designed exclusively for NACS members and the convenience industry. The tool allows retailers to use their own data and customized assumptions about the amount of improvement or uplift achievable, so executives can run scenarios on the bottom-line impact of a Good Jobs system.
Revisit “Understanding Your Local Labor Landscape” in the December 2021 issue of NACS Magazine for tips on building an effective employee value proposition and how to gain an edge when competing for candidates.