Minimum wage for Americans to take a job above $78,000 – up 8% in one year
- New study from the Federal Reserve of New York shows most Americans don’t want to take a new job that offers less than $78,000 a year
- The number is a record high and up to $6,000 as of July 2022
- Currently, the average full-time job offer for a new job in the United States is $69,475.
Average Americans are now asking for almost $80,000 as a starting salary for their new salary, as inflation continues to limit consumers’ purchasing power, according to a new survey.
The “reservation wage” – calculated by the New York Federal Reserve unemployment survey – now sits at $78,645, up more than $6,000 from 2022.
The big increase is up almost 8% from last year and a whopping $18,000 more than the acceptable minimum wage of $60,200 recorded in 2018.
Experts say inflation, which has also hit an all-time high and caused the prices of many important everyday goods and services to spike, could be a factor.
The average American earns just under $60,000.
Research shows Americans aren’t interested in taking a new job unless they’re offered nearly $80,000 a year
Overall, however, the likelihood of changing jobs has fallen to just 10.6%, from 11% in 2022. Expectations of being offered a new job have also fallen compared to 2022.
The data was released by the New York Federal Reserve on Monday and offers an interesting perspective on the state of the job market.
According to the numbers, employees looking to join a new company are looking for a minimum wage of $78,645.
In July 2022, that number was only $72,873, a difference of $5,772.
That number was another jump with the “reservation wage” in 2021 recorded at $69,000 in 2021.
Over the past three years, the level of the reservation wage has increased by more than 22%.
Before that, the booking salary was on a slow slope with $64,200 in 2020, $62,200 in 2019 and $60,200 in 2018.
The new figure shared on Monday also marks an unprecedented jump since the Fed began releasing numbers in 2014.
Despite the large increase in the reservation wage, the average expected probability of becoming unemployed also increased to 3.9%.
This number represents the highest point since March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, the probability of changing jobs has fallen to just 10.6%, from 11% in 2022. Expectations of being offered a new job have also fallen compared to 2022.
According to the numbers, employees looking to join a new company are looking for a minimum wage of $78,645.
Consumer prices rose 4% year on year, from 4.9% in April
The figures correspond to inflation rates, which reached their highest level in 40 years in the middle of 2022.
The New York Fed numbers also line up with the Atlanta Fed’s tracker, which predicted job changers were seeking a 7% pay rise.
The overall rate of increases expected from 2022 to 2023 was 6%.
Currently, inflation in the United States has slowed to an annual rate of 4%, the lowest pace of price increases since March 2021, when inflation was 2.6%.
The 4% annual inflation rate is well below the 9.1% peak seen last June, and down from April’s 4.9% increase.
