U.S. salary budgets are expected to remain stable in 2026 at 3.4%, the actual salary budget increase experienced last year, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday by global advisory, broking and solutions company WTW.
Nearly two-thirds of employers haven’t made any changes to their projected pay budgets, which were first set midway through the year, the report found.
“The labor market has reached a sort of equilibrium in the sense that demand for labor is significantly lower than where it was the past few years, while labor supply shortages have also continued. Since salary increase budgets are a direct reflection of this dynamic, we can expect a period of relative stability for salary increases for the foreseeable future,” Lori Wisper, managing director of work and rewards at WTW, said in a statement.
