By
Gwynn Guilford
and
Sarah Chaney Cambon
April 24, 2022 5:30 am ET
Job-switchers are often reaping double-digit pay increases, a new survey shows, a phenomenon that is demonstrating bargaining power for workers while threatening to keep inflation high.
About 64% of job-switchers said their current job provides more pay than their previous job. Among these workers, nearly half received a raise of 11% or more, according to a
ZipRecruiter
survey provided exclusively to The Wall Street Journal. Nearly 9% are now making at least 50% more.
Elevated rates of job switching could continue: Among prime-age workers aged 25 to 54, around 20% anticipate leaving within a year, while another 26% said they see staying one to two years, the survey said. Historically, the average job lasts four years, said
Julia Pollak,
chief economist at ZipRecruiter.
Job switching is a key driver behind broader wage growth that developed as the economy rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic. Workers who change jobs often command bigger pay increases and employers also raise wages to compete to keep existing workers, economists say. Annual wage growth for the typical worker hit 6% in March, averaged over three months, …