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

Companies report reductions in employees’ salaries and 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%).

“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.

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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.

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