Americans’ minimum salary to take a job over $78,000, up 8 percent in a year
- New research from the New York Federal Reserve shows that most Americans are unwilling to accept a new job that offers less than $78,000 a year
- The number is an all-time high and up $6,000 from July 2022
- Currently, the average full-time offer for a new job in the US is $69,475
Average Americans are now demanding nearly $80,000 as a starting salary for their new jobs wages as inflation continues to constrain consumers’ purchasing power, a new study finds.
The “Reservation Wage” – calculated by the New York Federal Reserve unemployment survey — now stands at $78,645, more than $6,000 more than in 2022.
The surge is nearly 8 percent higher than last year and a whopping $18,000 more than the $60,200 minimum acceptable salary recorded in 2018.
Experts say inflation, which has also hit record highs and pushed up the price of many everyday goods and services, could be a factor.
The average American earns just under $60,000.
Survey shows Americans aren’t interested in taking on a new job unless they’re offered nearly $80,000 a year
Overall, however, the likelihood of changing jobs dropped to just 10.6 percent, down from 11 percent in 2022. Expectations of being offered a new job also fell from 2022
The data was released Monday by the New York Federal Reserve and paints an interesting picture of the state of the labor market.
According to the figures, workers willing to join a new company are looking for an absolute minimum wage of $78,645.
In July 2022, that number was just $72,873, a difference of $5,772.
That number was another jump with the 2021 “reservation wage” at $69,000 in 2021.
In the past three years, the reserve wage level has risen by more than 22 percent.
Prior to that, reservation wages had been slowly increasing at $64,200 in 2020, $62,200 in 2019, and $60,200 in 2018.
The new number shared Monday also marks a record jump since the Fed began reporting the numbers in 2014.
Despite the sharp increase in reservation wages, the average expected chance of becoming unemployed also increased to 3.9 percent.
That number represents the highest since March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, the likelihood of changing jobs fell to just 10.6 percent, down from 11 percent in 2022. Expectations of being offered a new job also fell from 2022.
According to the figures, workers willing to join a new company are looking for an absolute minimum wage of $78,645
Consumer prices rose by 4 percent year-on-year, compared to 4.9 percent in April
The figures are consistent with inflation rates, which will have reached their highest level in 40 years by mid-2022.
The New York Fed’s numbers are also consistent with the Atlanta Fed Tracker, which predicted job changers were seeking a 7 percent salary increase.
The overall rate of expected increases from 2022 to 2023 was 6 percent.
Currently, inflation in the US has slowed to 4 percent year on year, the lowest rate of price increases since March 2021, when inflation was 2.6 percent.
The annual inflation rate of 4 percent is well below the peak of 9.1 percent last June and lower than the 4.9 percent increase in April.