Employers are budgeting slightly higher salary increases of nearly 4% in 2025 | C-Suite Insights 9.11.24
The CEO of Chobani Talks Leadership, Sustainability, and Community
“The truth is, if you are really involved, meaningfully making improvement in society in one dimension to another—it’s actually a rocket engine into your business. You are more innovative because of that. You are more successful because of that.... You have more people wanting to buy your goods and services because of that. More young talent wants to come and join you because of that, and you're more profitable because of that.”
This reflection comes from Hamdi Ulukaya , founder and CEO of Chobani and founder of Tent Partnership for Refugees Along with the Chobani team, Ulukaya is a recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Leadership Awards from the Committee for Economic Development (CED), the public policy center of The Conference Board .
Ulukaya sat down with Dr. Lori Esposito Murray , former President of CED and Co-Chair of the 2024 Distinguished Leadership Awards, to talk about how he leads by living his core values and why improving society is a growth engine for business rather than a distraction.
For information about sponsoring the 2024 Distinguished Leadership Awards Celebration, contact Brian Teagle .
Number of the Week: 3.9%
Employers, on average, report planned salary increase budgets of 3.9% for 2025—a small uptick from actual growth in 2024. That’s close to the fastest pace in two decades.
Why it matters: Salary increase budgets are a good proxy for the average raise a worker receives in a given year.
The TCB take: Despite a slower pace of hiring and slight increases in unemployment, the labor market remains tight. Business leaders are focused on retaining their workforce to mitigate the impact of skills shortages and ensure organizational stability.
August Jobs Data Point to a Normalizing Labor Market
The US employment report for August showed a partial reversal of the prior month’s downbeat numbers that roiled global markets.
Nonfarm payrolls added 142,000 in August, while July’s lower-than-expected gains were revised down further to 89,000 (?25,000 revision). June was revised down to 118,000 (?61,000).
Unemployment ticked down by 48,000 in August, lowering the rate to 4.2% from 4.3% in July.
What a soft landing looks like: Many labor market metrics are now at or slightly below 2019 levels but without signs of deeper deterioration.
Indeed, job openings fell to a two-year low in July. While still above prepandemic levels, the steady decline since 2022 should bolster the Federal Reserve’s confidence that labor demand has been brought into balance relative to labor supply.
The TCB take: August’s jobs report shouldn’t alter the Fed’s course. We continue to expect September’s rate cut will be 25 basis points—signaling normalization rather than outright weakness. The turn in interest rates should help boost business activity and improve the hiring outlook into 2025.
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Large Companies Are More Transparent About Their Political Contributions Than Smaller Firms
Large companies are far more likely to disclose their corporate political contributions than their smaller counterparts. In 2023, over one-third (37%) of S&P 500 companies reported their contributions, compared to just 12% of Russell 3000 companies. However, this trend appears to be leveling off.
The case for disclosing political contributions: While campaign contributions allow companies to exert influence in the political arena, such spending continues to be associated with significant risks, including public backlash.
The TCB take: Companies can take various actions to reduce risks related to political contributions:
Salaries Are Not the Only Tool to Woo Marketing and Communications Talent
The latest research from The Conference Board suggests companies are focusing on salary budget increases of nearly 4% on average—as well as more flexible scheduling of pay raises—as a reaction to secure the talent needed to compete in the rapidly evolving marketplace.
Talent is a top priority in marketing and communications: Our CMO+CCO Meter tracks leaders’ satisfaction with the talent on their teams. It has been holding steady for marketing, and while satisfaction with talent used to be at a higher level for communications, it is now showing worrying signs of erosion.
The TCB take: In our roundtables, we increasingly hear our Members talk about the importance of the culture and the team that new talent will be joining. The three recurring tenets are:
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