Americans Are Changing Their Salary Expectations

Americans are accepting lower salaries and settling for roles that fall below their level of experience, as concerns over a softening labor market prompt many to “hug” onto their current jobs.

According to a new survey by TopResume—titled “Overqualified and Undervalued”—70 percent of U.S. professionals are willing to drop down in seniority to ensure they keep their jobs. Additionally, 75 percent said they would take a pay cut in the interests of job security, with 34 percent willing to accept a salary reduction of 11 percent or more. READ MORE

Workers Favor Stock Compensation, Yet Experts Highlight Potential Gains Without It

For decades, stock awards have been the most sought-after perks in corporate America, offering the promise of wealth in exchange for loyalty. For employees, these packages often spark hope of striking it rich should their company stock take off. According to a recent Charles Schwab study, three-quarters of employees say equity pay is very important, and half see it as a must-have benefit when job hunting.1

But, according to financial planners and industry experts, relying too much on stock for pay can create risks that few workers fully understand. It may even leave you worse off than if you got cash instead. Sometimes, a cash bonus or robust retirement plan is the smarter option for building your nest egg. READ MORE

California Refines Pay Transparency Requirements

On October 8, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law legislation that will set the statute of limitations for civil actions alleging violations of the state’s pay transparency requirements at three years, with a six-year “look-back” period to obtain relief for an existing violation. In addition, the legislation defines the “pay scale” that employers must disclose in job postings as a “good faith estimate” and expands the definition of “wages” to include all forms of compensation, including stocks and stock options. READ MORE

How much can Tesla pay Elon Musk? Delaware's Supreme Court will decide

On Wednesday, the Delaware Supreme Court will hear the latest set of arguments in a yearslong legal drama over Tesla CEO Elon Musk's record-setting compensation package.

The pay package, worth tens of billions of dollars, was laid out back in 2018. It didn't give Musk a salary, but instead, promised him more and more Tesla shares the better the company did. The goals laid out for the highest awards — which called for Tesla's value to grow tenfold — seemed somewhere between audacious and utterly impossible at the time. Back then, the board told shareholders Musk could stand to gain $55.8 billion if he met all the goals. READ MORE

Government Data Shows U.S. Gender Pay Gap Is Getting Bigger

Data released in September 2024 by the U.S. Census Bureau showed the gender pay gap among American workers experienced its first “statistically significant” widening in 20 years. Was that an anomaly? Well ...

A new Census Bureau reportOpen in a new tab, released Sept. 9, revealed the gender pay gap actually increased in the subsequent 12 months. The data displayed that the median full-time female worker made 81% as much as the median male worker ($57,500 vs. $71,000) in 2024, down from 83% from the year prior. READ MORE

As billionaire wealth soars $33 trillion, Mark Cuban says it’s time for workers to receive a cut of their employers’ success in the form of stocks

As founders and C-suite executives grow wealthier from soaring stock gains, billionaire Mark Cuban says employees deserve a piece of that pie too.

Responding to a recent Oxfam report about billionaire wealth increasing by $33 trillion since 2015, Cuban posted on X that the reason behind the surge is that “the stock market has gone straight up.” READ MORE

Private Markets Funds Set for 70% Growth by 2030

The value of global private assets funds has surged to a record $14.05 trillion this year, a rise of 77% since 2020 and 205% since 2015, and is forecast to climb 70% over the next five years to hit $23.9 trillion, according to the latest Global Asset Monitor from Ocorian.

Global private equity fund asset values will be the key driver of growth doubling to $17.4 trillion by 2030 with infrastructure, private debt and real estate funds also performing strongly taking the global value of the four sectors to $23.9 trillion. READ MORE

The Future of Payroll: How Crypto and Stablecoins Are Changing Salaries

As digital currencies take center stage, the way we handle payroll is changing fast. Solana, a leader in blockchain technology, is leading the charge with innovative ideas for paying salaries using stablecoins. This piece dives into the reality that crypto payroll is more than just a passing fancy; it’s a practical choice for businesses aiming for efficiency and stability. Let’s unpack the benefits of stablecoin salaries and how they can transform your payroll operations. READ MORE

I Asked ChatGPT To Find Where a $40K Salary Goes Furthest in the US

A salary can feel generous or tight depending on one thing above all else: where you live. In some parts of the country, $40,000 might barely cover the basics. In more affordable places, though, the same paycheck can stretch surprisingly far.

To see just how much difference location makes, I asked ChatGPT to help identify where a $40,000 salary goes the furthest in the U.S. and what that looks like in real living expenses. READ MORE

6 In-Demand Skills That Lead to Higher Salaries

It’s a seller’s market for skills that mesh with an increasingly AI driven environment, and a handful of them are at the top of hiring managers’ lists. While the broader job market has stalled since summer, small business hiring remains steady, and AI is having an impact on entry-level hiring for Gen-Z workers. But of course that also means that if you’ve got skills in working with and programming AI systems then you’re in demand. 

A recent report from recruitment services outfit Robert Half provides estimated starting salaries for key roles across different professional fields, and the big take-away from the data is that 84 percent of the hiring managers surveyed said they’d offer higher salaries for job candidates who have the most sought-after skills. READ MORE

Companies are offering higher salaries to candidates skilled in AI, accounting

Are you, the indispensable finance professional, being fairly compensated? Talent and business advisory firm Robert Half’s newly released 2026 Salary Guide may help answer that question.

The average mid-range salary of a CFO is $269,750, spanning from $195,500 on the low end to $321,750 on the high end, according to the guide. For the rest of the finance team, the mid-range salary is $185,000 for a controller, $94,750 for a senior accountant, and $62,000 for an entry-level staff accountant. READ MORE

Would you tell your coworkers your salary? Gen Z employees are doing so, and here’s why that’s good for companies

In 2022, Nancy Romanyshyn stood up in front of dozens of her fellow HR industry veterans, swallowed her pride, and did something that scared her: She shared her entire pay history. 

She, like others, was daunted by new laws around pay transparency and the start of salary ranges being posted for open jobs—mandates that, she said, made her nauseous at first. But since ignoring the changes was not an option, she wanted her peers in HR to buck the decades-old trend of silence around salaries and prepare for a time when it would  become part of business as usual. READ MORE

Here’s the Minimum Salary Required To Be Upper Class on the East Coast

By its strictest definition of bordering the Atlantic Ocean, the East Coast is comprised of 14 states running from Maine in the North to Florida in the South, although some analyses include Vermont and Pennsylvania because of their proximity to the ocean and their cultural connections to the Eastern Seaboard states they border.

The area is loosely divided into three regions: New England in the Northeast, the Southeastern states and the Mid-Atlantic in between. READ MORE

Salary talks crucial: 53% of professionals seek better pay, benefits, report finds

While many employers are willing to pay more for specialized talent, job offers can fall short of candidate expectations. And while most professionals express confidence in negotiating salary, they can struggle to gauge their worth and what’s up for discussion.

Dawn Fay highlights key findings from the 2026 Salary Guide from Robert Half and what’s ahead for both job seekers and hiring managers. She provides tips and advice for negotiating salary, as well as share insights on impactful benefits and perks. READ MORE

Strong opposition to Elon Musk's stratospheric compensation package

A group of Tesla shareholders, backed by several US politicians, is calling for the rejection of the historic $1 trillion compensation proposed for Elon Musk. The proposal, which will be put to a vote in November, has sparked heated controversy over the automaker's governance. The SOC Investment Group and the treasurers of Nevada, New Mexico, and Connecticut are denouncing a strategy aimed at retaining Musk "at all costs," even as Tesla experiences delays in its strategic objectives and a decline in its performance. The coalition also opposes the reappointment of three directors deemed to have failed in their supervisory role. READ MORE

Show-Up Pay: New State Law Requires Compensation for Reporting to Work

Under a new law in Maine, covered employers are now required to provide compensation or show-up pay to employees who report to work but have their shifts canceled or reduced.

In passing this legislation, Maine joins a handful of states that require show-up pay, also known as reporting time pay, including California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. READ MORE

Is equity compensation the new 'must-have' financial wellness benefit?

Sometimes, the best way to invest in employees' career and development is to let them invest in you. 

Nearly half of employees consider equity compensation — a benefit that gives them a stake in their company's shares — a must-have benefit for a new job and view it as a critical tool to help achieve their retirement goals, according to a recent survey from financial services company Charles Schwab. Adding an effective equity compensation package may be the perfect solution for benefit leaders looking to attract, retain and engage their workforce. READ MORE

Pay for Performance Mandated SEC Proxy Disclosures – Role of PVP and CAP

The 2006 SEC and 2010 Dodd-Frank mandated executive pay proxy disclosure requirements significantly increased the amount of information that companies must disclose, and shareholders and other interested parties must navigate to determine a company’s executive compensation program. The SEC’s June 26, 2025, Roundtable gave voice to many of the positive and negative attributes to the current proxy disclosure regime, with near universal support for ensuring the disclosed information is more readily accessible and material to investors’ understanding of the program. While many commentators expressed concerns about the complexity of the Pay versus Performance (PVP) disclosure rules and some cited the lack of interest in this disclosure, others welcomed the disclosure, as it provides investors with an analysis of outcome-based compensation compared to performance rather than the static view of compensation reported in the Summary Compensation Table (SCT). Indeed, the main reason Dodd-Frank mandated the PVP disclosure was the failure of the 2006 rules to provide investors with a true, consistent picture of pay and performance. READ MORE

Equity compensation emerges as key retirement tool for American workers

Equity compensation is taking on a growing role in the retirement strategies of American workers, with new research from Charles Schwab showing that nearly all stock plan participants consider it an important workplace benefit.

Three-quarters of those surveyed described equity compensation as “very important,” and almost half said it is essential when evaluating new job opportunities. READ MORE

7 things a single income could buy in the boomer era—that now take two salaries

Ever catch yourself wondering how your parents—or maybe your grandparents—managed so much with just one paycheck?

I do. My mom likes to remind me that back in the late 1970s, my dad’s modest salary as an accountant was enough for a mortgage, a car, and family vacations. They weren’t living large, but they weren’t drowning in debt either.

Fast forward to today, and most couples I know are running on two full-time incomes just to stay afloat. And even then, the math often feels impossible.

So, what changed? Let’s break it down. READ MORE