According to a new report from Roseland-based ADP, overall wage growth across the country increased by 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. The numbers are slightly better for those who kept the same job, at 4.3 percent growth, while those who switched jobs only saw 3.3 percent growth.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 2.4 percent overall growth for the same period, but the human resources and payroll company has claimed a “more insightful picture of wage growth” by tracking the same set of workers over time.
“Although employment growth this quarter accelerated … wage growth was stagnant for both job holders and job switchers,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “However, there are two industries, information and professional services, where we see employers paying a premium to attract skilled workers. Additionally, with job switching at an all-time high and continuing to gradually increase, we will be watching wages closely in 2018.”
Job switching also proved to be less profitable on an hourly wage level, bringing in $10 less an hour on average. In service industries, however, wage growth for job switchers was greater than for holders, gaining 6.3 percent. Close behind were job switchers in the information industry, whose wages grew by 6.2 percent, compared to 4.9 across all industries.
Other factors can influence wage growth, as well. Location plays a big factor, with the greatest gains in employment growth, wage growth and wage level in the West, and the lowest in the Midwest. ADP also found in a 2015 study that men had higher wage growth when switching jobs compared with women. But this past quarter also saw the strongest wage growth among women and younger workers, workers with little job tenure and those employed in large companies.
