ERI Survey Shows 2012 U.S. Salary Increases of 2.8% Planned

While the strength of the U.S. economy remains uncertain, companies are still budgeting for some salary increases, according to the recently released ERI Economic Research Institute’s 2011 Salary Increase Survey. According to the survey, last year’s increase in salary budgets averaged only 2.2%, and 2.8% is budgeted for the coming year. Thus the trend of modest increases in salary and incentive budgets in recent years continues.

The salary increase received by any individual employee, in any specific job, and in any specific industry, may be very different from the average, however. Increases tend to be more and more based on what people do and the industry of their employers. In general, individuals who earn less are seeing lower increases, while more skilled and higher earning individuals within certain job groups receive more. As usual, there is no recession for key skills and talent.

ERI Economic Research Institute has been providing estimates of salary structure, budget, and merit increases since 1987. ERI uses this data in its Assessor Series® compensation survey software, which creates reports and analyses used by subscribers to set pay for more than 10 million employees. While other salary increase reports are based on information from a limited number of organizations on what they are projecting to pay (for example, traditional surveys ask what increases are projected for January 2012), ERI collects data throughout the year from its subscribers, allowing a continuously updated and detailed report that tracks trends much more precisely. 

The 2011 ERI Salary Increase Report also details pay increases by broad job functions and here is where the differences begin to emerge.

Current and Projected Salary Increases by Broad Job Function

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The detailed findings in the survey report show the variation within these averages both by industry and any state.

The 2011 ERI Salary Increase Survey provides information on what increases were paid last year and what is expected for the coming year by industry, broad job function, individual job title, and geography. Get more information and order at www.erieri.com or call 800-627-3697.  ERI Assessor Series subscribers can access this ERI Salary Increase Report for free.