Roughly A Third Of U.S. Workers Netted A Pay Raise Last Year: Report

Incomes in America barely rose last year, and that's in part a result of companies deciding against doling out extra bucks if possible.

Only a third of Americans received a pay raise, promotion or bonus last year, a new survey by Adecco finds. For the lucky minority that's been good news. This month Ford Motor Co., for one, announced pay raises and bonuses for 20,000 of its white-collar workers in the U.S. and Canada.

That more than half the country didn't receive any hint of financial relief last year is bad news, though, for the almost half of Americans that say they live in households that lack economic security, according to November survey. Not that many expected much in the way of financial relief. Recent studies have found Americans workers to be particularly disillusioned when it comes to the prospect of a raise. Nine out of ten surveyed in a 2010 study said they did not expect any pay increases to keep up with the rising prices of food and fuel.

Corporations are reaping the benefits of a workforce that's working harder and not costing much more. Indeed, last year, profits per employee continued to rise, according to an August analysis by Sageworks.

Adecco's survey also found that workers are more concerned with keeping their job than getting a pay increase. Those listing job security as their highest priority nearly doubled the percentage that said the size of their salary. That makes sense with the job market so week: Though the unemployment rate dropped to 8.5 percent in December, it hovered near 9 percent for years.

Such desperation may also explain why the survey found that nearly two-thirds of respondents viewed temporary jobs more favorably than last year. Of those surveyed, 86 percent considered taking such a position a good career move.

Comments

[americanwhoserved]

11:25 AM on 01/31/2012

Roughly A Third Of U.S. Workers Netted A Pay Raise Last Year: Report . Why is that fact that after years of stagnation, someone feels it is " good news" that "Roughly A Third Of U.S. Workers Netted A Pay Raise Last Year: Report". Unbelievable! The one percenters have done very well every year for the last twently years. This is a sick society.

[toddisit]

09:33 AM on 01/31/2012

Let's see, I stayed with one place for 7 years and my pay rose an entire $1.60. No need to comment on that one, self explanatory!

[Thomas Andrew Dunphy]

08:40 AM on 01/31/2012

why pay anybody slaves work for free.

[rini1946]

08:37 AM on 01/31/2012

An idea on exectuive pay. Should be decent wage and should be a % of the sales and profit increase. Second part of that % should be in stock they can not sell for ten years. That way they can not push the assets in to the ground so in five years they are useless and the company goes under like the steel mills did and the car companies.

[loki]

03:39 AM on 01/31/2012

white collar workers?

executive bonuses?

[Linda from Deerfield]

07:40 PM on 01/30/2012

Some years ago I saw a credible analysis that concluded there was no apparent advantage to the U.S. economy for a multi-national corporation to be headquartered here versus not. Consider Toyota, for example -- they will build here as long as it makes sense, regardless of where they are headquartered. The one impact that was not addressed was lobbying. I suspect that we would be better off in the long run to just let them leave and stop granting them most everything that they demand through their lobbyists.

[jflorish]

08:31 AM on 01/31/2012

Not really, because they hire a ton of U.S. people. We need businesses here, not businesses leaving.

[Linda from Deerfield]

01:19 PM on 01/31/2012

It sounds like you want to believe that they employ people here because they're nice rather than because it makes sense. There's not much evidence -- rather multi-nationals typically outsource as much as they can possibly justify, and will continue to do so unless incentivized to behave otherwise, such as President Obama has recently proposed.

[bynddrvn5]

06:50 PM on 01/30/2012

Well I do know a few people who have received pay raises this year; although, they are all back filling multiple positions that have been downsized.

Wave of the future, in US business. I survived multiple layoffs and ended up doing six different jobs, one work day sort of blends into the next.

[MyResponsibility]

06:43 PM on 01/30/2012

"workers are more concerned with keeping their job than getting a pay increase." * I second that thought.

[Smarty5]

06:37 PM on 01/30/2012

Most of the raise was probably just a stand of living adjustment. Just to keep up with inflation.

[AlanBannacheck]

06:09 PM on 01/30/2012

Thanks for rubbing it in huff post. Profit is more important then workers well being, we get it

[WI Patriot]

06:26 PM on 01/30/2012

If someone works more than others, should they not recieve a higher cut in the profits?

[VPerry24]

06:02 PM on 01/30/2012

3.5 % that is.

[VPerry24]

05:59 PM on 01/30/2012

Oh yes, the military got 3.5 pay raise and I don't know anyone who got more in civilian life. Now congress always gets the big raises.

[thomas paine]

10:51 PM on 01/30/2012

I got well over 3.5% last year in the private sector.

[Janine547]

05:57 PM on 01/30/2012

"People favor capping execs pay"........... You want to see jobs leave this country faster than NAFTA caused. Just tell the execs their salaries are being limited.

[VPerry24]

06:00 PM on 01/30/2012

Let the go, we saw what these highly paid CEOs can do besides running a company into the ground. Will sound great on the next resume and no country on this globe pays their CEOs as much as the US does!

[frank day]

06:16 PM on 01/30/2012

Keep the jobs and export the "executives".

We can bring in better foreign ones at 1/10th the cost.

[fortressfountain]

05:02 PM on 01/30/2012

White collar workers always get pay raises and bonuses. The lowly hourly workers are expected to work hard for less. It is not like anyone cannot do the white collar jobs.

[bave]

06:18 PM on 01/30/2012

Wow, just wow.

[WI Patriot]

06:36 PM on 01/30/2012

Keep tellin yourself that if it makes ya feel better!

Just remember there is a difference between 1 year experience times 30 and 30 years experience.

[George Costanza]

04:56 PM on 01/30/2012

Bet is was the upper third.

Rock on, GOP. Run us headlong into Banana Republic territory, where there are a scant few really, really rich people, and everyone else is dirt poor.