1 in 4 Companies Have Reduced Current Employees’ Salaries; Half Have Cut Benefits

ResumeTemplates.com, the leading platform for free professional resume templates and examples, has published a recent survey report. In August, ResumeTemplates.com surveyed 1,000 business leaders in the United States to understand how economic pressures and a tight labor market are impacting salaries and benefits within their companies.

According to the survey, 27% of companies have reduced current employees’ salaries. In contrast, 71% of companies report having not reduced any salaries, while 2% of respondents say they are unsure. For companies that reduced some but not all workers’ salaries, the primary reason cited was employee performance (58%).

Notably, half of companies have also cut employees’ benefits. The most common changes to employee benefits include reduced paid time off (PTO)/vacation days (23%), decreased or removed stock options/equity grants (21%), and reduced or eliminated meal allowances (20%).

“If companies keep cutting salaries, reducing benefits, and denying salary increases to current employees, they are going to lose talent,” says ResumeTemplates’ Chief Career Strategist Julia Toothacre. “They will also create a culture of mediocrity. People will go above and beyond if they’re appreciated and compensated, but if they aren’t, they will pull back on productivity.”

Survey findings also suggest 9% of companies will not give raises to any current employees, while 77% of companies say they plan to give or have already given raises this year, and 15% are unsure. However, 21% of companies say they will not provide a cost-of-living adjustment to all employees.

This survey, conducted in August 2024, and included 1,000 U.S. business leaders. Participants were selected based on demographic criteria and screening questions. To view the complete report, please visit: https://www.resumetemplates.com/1-in-4-companies-have-reduced-current-employees-salaries-half-have-cut-benefits/

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