Soaring inflation was the common factor behind many of the biggest headlines in the world of compensation and benefits in 2022, but other developments were on employers' minds as well, including abortion benefits in the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court reversal; transparency around job salaries and wages; and employee mental health in a time of extreme global insecurity.
Here's a look at some of the year's biggest topics in compensation and benefits.
Inflation and Pay Raises
The cost of living soared this year, hitting a 40-year-high in June, with U.S. consumer prices jumping by 9.1 percent year over year. Unsurprisingly, the rise affected virtually every aspect of employees' lives, from increased mental angst and financial stress to shelling out more on everything from housing to gas and groceries. As a result of inflation—coupled with a hot job market throughout the year—employers handed out bigger pay increases than they have in years. Salary.com's Cost of Living Adjustment Survey Report, released in the spring, found that most U.S. organizations (73 percent) targeted a payroll budget increase of 4 percent or more this year and a plurality of organizations (43 percent) are growing their salary merit-increase budgets by 5 percent or more. In addition, consultancy WTW's July Salary Budget Planning Report found that companies are budgeting an overall average increase of 4.1 percent for 2023, compared with the average actual 4 percent increase in 2022.
Despite the...
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