FILE – A hiring sign is displayed at a grocery store in Arlington Heights, Illinois, Jan. 13, 2023. Employers are increasingly posting salary ranges for jobs, even in states where the law doesn’t require it, according to analysts at employment sites Indeed, Glassdoor and Monster. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, file)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. employers are increasingly posting salary ranges for jobs, even in states where the law doesn’t require it, according to analysts at several major job search sites.
Employers across the country are urging employers to become more transparent about salaries and publish salary ranges, following new legislation in states including New York City, California, Washington and Colorado, experts say. It is trying to stay competitive with companies in mandated states, experts say. A tight labor market and a significant increase in remote work have also contributed to this rise.
According to a new report from job search site Indeed, the number of US job postings, including salary information, more than doubled from 18.4% to 43.7% between February 2020 and February 2023.
Payroll visibility is lowest in the southern United States, which has 18 of the 20 least transparent metropolitan areas, and highest in the western part of the country, which tends to be more regulated.
Advocates say the trend benefits women and people of color who statistically do poorly in job negotiations.
Rather than making job seekers and employees responsible for determining how their wages compare to their peers and what fair compensation looks like, the law shifts that expectation to employers. .
Kate Byrne, chief economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, says this means employers won’t have much of an edge in determining wages. A law prohibiting employers from asking potential hires about their recent salary history works similarly.
According to federal data, the average wage of full-time female workers will be about 83% of that of men in 2021, and women will earn less than men in almost every sector. According to a report by the National Partnership for Women and Families, a black woman earns 64 cents for every dollar she pays to non-Hispanic white men. Latino women are 54 cents and Native American women are 51 cents.
Keegan Vance Forte, 37, a freelancer based in Jersey City, New Jersey, is looking for a full-time job in New York or New Jersey. She said she’s noticed a larger salary list for open positions in both states in the last few months than when she’s been job hunting in the past. There is no law requiring transparency: New York City law requires employers to post truthful salary ranges in every post, and it went into effect in November.)
“I’m still used to it,” she said. “When I see a payslip with a job posting, my eyes widen.”
Forte has held business development, marketing and corporate partnership roles for the past decade. Knowing what’s available can help you avoid wasting both your time and the hiring manager’s, she says.
“Instead of dancing around the elephant question in the room at the end, at least you know you’re playing in the same ballpark,” she said.
Previously, Forte spent weeks interviewing for a position only to discover that the salary was not acceptable to her.
“Throughout a career, it can be very time consuming,” she said.
Daniel Zhao, lead economist at job site GlassDoor, said compliance with new laws mandating disclosure has already been tightened in New York City, California, and Washington, with laws mandating transparency coming into effect in 2019. In Colorado, where it is being used, it is said to be further strengthened.
“Added compliance in Colorado means other states will improve,” he said. “And what we’re really noticing is that since the law went into effect, more employers have decided to distribute salaries nationwide.”
Major companies such as Microsoft, CitiGroup, and Google have committed to publishing salary ranges for all jobs nationwide, not just states where it is required by law.
“Companies that aren’t necessarily where the law is right now are disclosing that information anyway,” said Vicki Salemi, a career expert at job site Monster. It’s becoming more standard.”
Salemi, who also previously worked as a recruiter, said employers tend to compete to get job seekers across state borders, including neighboring states with different laws.
“That means it’s in their best interest to start sharing their ranges so that job seekers can compare apples to apples,” she said. “It’s a favorable feedback loop.”
She called the new law a “game changer” in reducing taboos about wages.
In New York City, the NYC Human Rights Commission is working on early enforcement. But Jose Rios Rua, the commission’s executive director of communications, said the new law “has changed the lives of many people.”
“Before they go through the lengthy application process, they know the salary range, so they know if the position is worth pursuing,” he said. “For those in low-income jobs, it could mean a difference in cost of living and salary.”
New York City law provides companies with 30 days to rectify a job listing violation. Unusual grace period.
In the first few months, the commission confirmed that both employers and prospective employees were “paying attention to job postings.”
Any member of the public can come to the committee and conduct an investigation. If a company repeats violations of the law, it will be subject to penalties, including fees. Anyone who encounters a business that is not compliant with the new Pay Transparency Act can file an inquiry on her website at the Commission.
The law also proves to shed light on some employees who weren’t necessarily looking for a new job.
Kimberly Nguyen, 25, is a UX copywriter in a contract role at CitiGroup when she noticed a job posting for a comparable role, but was out of the salary range as a full-time employee. is significantly higher. She shared it with her fellow contract copywriter and tweeted about it. The group took it to the manager and tried to negotiate for higher wages. Nguyen said they are still waiting.
“They told us it was out of their control and there was nothing they could do,” she said. I said I didn’t.”
A spokesperson for CitiGroup said Citi will pay market-competitive service rates to contractors that employ Nguyen, with contractors negotiating individual rates. A spokesperson said Citi hires full-time employees with five to eight years of experience over Nguyen, and the salary range reflects that.
Nguyen’s experience illustrates the limits of wage transparency in a highly contracted workforce. For now, she says she’s looking for higher-paying full-time jobs at other companies, while continuing to advocate pay raises for contract workers at Citi. , said it sees it as a tool for pay equity.
“It’s a hill I’m happy to die in, but I also have to pay the rent,” she said.
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