We say it again: pay raise

2018 will be the year of the pay raise. That’s our story, and we’re sticking with it.

The pundits predict an overall increase in pay of 3% this year. Our firm expects 4% in plastics and packaging, plus more lucrative bonus payouts. Why not?  We’re worth it! Also, there’s not a backlog of trained, energetic talent in line to replace retiring workers. Employers will need to coax their long-time employees into staying for a few more years.

Here are the official projections from two sources.

From dismal, pessimistic CNN: American workers are in line for a 3% pay increase, but 2% inflation means they’ll end up being only 1% better off. http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/12/pf/pay-salary-work-inflation/index.html

And from the Society for Human Resource Management:  A new forecast predicts that salary increase budgets for U.S. employers will grow 3 percent on average in 2018 across most employee categories, essentially unchanged from 2017. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/2018-salary-increase-budgets.aspx

We are more optimistic than either of these sources because we see firsthand the shortage of talent in plastics and packaging manufacturing industries.  Have a great year!