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Earned wage access (EWA) or on-demand pay programs have been framed as a “win-win” for employees and employers.
Allowing workers to access wages ahead of a scheduled payday holds the promise of helping them alleviate financial stress. At the same time, such a benefit may fuel positive outcomes for HR departments, such as improved retention rates, surveys have suggested. READ MORE
While wages in the United States have increased in recent years, many families are still suffering the consequences of high inflation, and wage levels vary considerably, not only by profession, but also by geographical location.
The following chart shows the average salary by state for the entire United States, using the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in March 2025. The figures represent total private hourly earnings, not seasonally adjusted. READ MORE
Your degree might not pay the bills.
College graduates who studied education, social work or the arts wind up earning the lowest median income within five years post-grad, recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed.
As Fortune reported, the top of the bottom five majors with a low median annual income are anthropology and early childhood education majors, who make a median salary of $42,000. READ MORE
Corporate boards are increasingly paying their chief executives similarly — a shift that could weaken company performance.
A new study from Virginia Tech finds that CEO compensation has become 24% more similar across public firms since 2006. Researchers measured the change using a composite index that tracks how companies structure pay—including salary, bonuses, stock awards, and other incentives. READ MORE
Tesla’s board has reportedly formed a special committee to reconsider CEO Elon Musk’s pay, potentially setting the stage for a new compensation package as the company faces mounting legal and investor pressure.
The move comes in response to a Delaware court decision that invalidated Musk’s historic $56 billion stock award from 2018. READ MORE
During a job interview, “What’s your salary expectation?” is one of the trickiest questions you'll be asked—and one of the most important.
It can feel like a mind game. Answer too low, and you risk getting lowballed; too high, and you might be out of the running. While studies have established that failing to negotiate your salary could end up significantly costing you, most job seekers are reluctant because they fear jeopardizing a deal. READ MORE
With current cost-of-living demands, the inflation hangover of the COVID-19 era and the ongoing economic uncertainty generated by President Donald Trump’s tariffs against America’s trade partners, a healthy salary is more important than ever.
The American middle class is making anywhere from $50,000 and $160,000 annually — so how much must one earn (before taxes) to be on the upper end of that spectrum, earning $150,000 per year? READ MORE
In one of every four large American cities, a family can earn six figures and still feel broke.
That’s the takeaway from an analysis by LendingTree, the personal finance site, which measured monthly expenses in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. READ MORE
Figuring out a good salary in 2025 – or in any year – isn’t easy.
The exact number depends on a range of factors, including location, industry, experience level and even remote status. READ MORE
Average salaries differ widely across Europe. The cost of living does too. So, which countries offer the highest pay? And how do salaries compare when adjusted for purchasing power standards?
There are various definitions of salary, wages, and earnings, each reflecting different aspects. The average full-time adjusted salary per employee is particularly useful. READ MORE
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett announced at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 3 that he will step down as chief executive at the end of this year. He will stay on as chairman.
Since taking over what was once a struggling textile company in 1965, Buffett has turned Berkshire Hathaway into one of the largest conglomerates in the U.S. Under his leadership, Berkshire hit a market cap of $1 trillion in 2024. The legendary investor is also one of the richest people in the world, worth an estimated $160 billion. READ MORE
There is a growing focus on the quality of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability incentive metrics as prevalence levels of these metrics have started to reach a plateau, according to the results of a recent WTW global study.
Additionally, our study with several major investment firms reinforced the importance for companies to disclose necessary information for them to have confidence in the quality of ESG and sustainability metrics. This information can be characterized by three key interconnected principles detailed in this paper: READ MORE
Chief executives of large-cap companies saw a median pay increase of 7.5 percent between 2024 and 2025 despite ‘market turbulence’, according to the latest data from ISS-Corporate.
The firm, which provides data and analytics to corporations, scrutinized the salaries of CEOs at 320 S&P 500 companies. Salary growth is down slightly from the year before, when it grew 9.2 percent. READ MORE
“Our latest data indicates a moderation in base pay increases, reflecting the evolving dynamics of the labor market,” Lauren Mason, Mercer’s U.S. workforce solutions leader, said in a statement. “With heightened economic uncertainty, employers are focused on maximizing compensation impact through strategic decisions, such as proactively rewarding high performance.”
In the survey of more than 800 U.S. companies, employers said they expected to promote about 10% of their workforce, up from 8% the previous year, and to award an average raise of 8.5% with promotions. READ MORE
Most organizations see the benefit of driving a global sales compensation framework across local countries. READ MORE
Amid rising labor and political tensions, 2025 will most likely be a “year of contention,”Open in a new tab with employers tightening budgets and employees advocating for fair pay and better working conditions, according to Payscale’s latest Compensation Best Practices ReportOpen in a new tab. Released in March, the report revealed workplace and compensation trends, analyzing data and insights from nearly 3,600 primarily U.S.-based industry professionals. READ MORE
State and local governments are increasingly adopting laws and regulations that prohibit employers from requesting salary history information from job applicants.
The laws are aimed at ending the cycle of pay discrimination and some go further than merely banning pay history questions. A few also prohibit an employer from relying on an applicant’s pay history to set compensation if discovered or volunteered; others prohibit an employer from taking disciplinary action against employees who discuss pay with coworkers. READ MORE
A mid-level Google employee made $331,894 in 2024, a 5% increase from the median salary of $315,531 in 2023, per a new filing submitted by Google's parent company, Alphabet, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The figure aligns with compensation at other tech giants in recent years. At Meta, for example, the median pay for employees in 2023 was $379,000 a year. READ MORE
The impact of the Trump administration’s evolving tariff regime will be felt by US companies across the board. Many will encounter rising material costs and reduced profit margins, particularly given the significant pressure on the supply chain. Taken together with the recent stock market volatility, companies (both public and private) will need to address the impact of these challenges on their business and, importantly, consider the effects on director and executive compensation programs. READ MORE
Amid fluctuating market conditions, the outlook for initial public offerings (IPOs) on U.S. exchanges in 2025 remains cautiously optimistic, with indications of a potential rise in both the number and aggregate value of public listings in the latter half of the year.
Privately-owned companies considering an IPO should consider taking the following steps to ensure that their executive compensation plans and governance policies are aligned with both continuing and new shareholder expectations. All companies considering an IPO should be able to answer 10 critical executive compensation and governance questions before going public. READ MORE