Outpace the Great Resignation: Why Staying in Your Job Might Pay Off. Recent data reveals that salary increases for employees who stayed in their roles have surpassed those who switched jobs during the Great Resignation. This surprising trend, unseen since 2009, shows robust wage growth for loyal employees and challenges the prevailing job-hopping narrative. Learn why holding onto your current position may be a financially savvy move in today's changing job market
Job Hoppers Beware: Staying Put Pays More. Recent data reveals a surprising trend: year-over-year wage growth for employees who stayed in their roles now exceeds that of job switchers. This rare occurrence, unseen since 2009, marks a significant shift from July 2022 when job switchers saw significantly higher raises. Learn why staying put might be the smarter career move in today's market
Companies are hiring cautiously, offering smaller salary increases to new hires. This shift benefits employees who stayed in their roles, experiencing robust wage growth and low layoff rates, unlike those who switched jobs during the Great Resignation. This trend contrasts sharply with previous years and suggests a cooling job market
Great Resignation: Job Switchers vs. Stayers—Who Really Won? White-collar workers who stayed in their jobs are experiencing robust wage growth and low layoff rates, outpacing those who switched roles during the Great Resignation. Those who successfully switched jobs and remained employed enjoy the benefits of higher salaries. This surprising trend reverses the 2022 pattern, highlighting the current economic landscape and the evolving job market
Facing unemployment? US white-collar job growth is near a decade low (excluding the pandemic), creating a challenging job market for those seeking new roles. This contrasts sharply with the strong wage gains experienced by those who remained in their positions
Is Now the Right Time to Switch Jobs? New Data on Salary Growth May Surprise You. Recent trends show that staying in your current role may offer better salary increases than job hopping. Learn why this surprising shift happened and if a career move is still right for you
Should you stay or should you go? Indeed Hiring Lab economist Cory Stahle advises: Consider a job change only if it offers significant career advancement and a substantial raise. Otherwise, current data shows staying in your current role offers surprisingly strong wage growth, a rare occurrence surpassing gains for job switchers
Share your job search or career story! Business Insider wants to hear from you. Contact reporters Michael Hoff (mhoff@businessinsider.com) and Jessica Kaplan (jkaplan@businessinsider.com) to share your experience
The Big Stay Pays Off: Why Staying in Your Job Beats Job Hopping
After years of the Great Resignation, where job switchers reaped the rewards, the tables have turned. Data reveals that employees who stayed in their roles are now experiencing higher year-over-year wage growth than those who changed jobs. This rare trend, unseen since 2009, signifies a shift in the job market, benefiting loyal employees with robust salary increases and job security. Discover why staying put might be the smarter career move in today's economy
White-collar workers who stayed put saw significant wage gains in May. Information sector wages (broadcasting, telecommunications, data processing) jumped 6%, while professional and business services (management, legal, computer systems) saw a 5% increase. This robust year-over-year growth surpasses gains for job switchers, a rare occurrence since 2009, suggesting that staying in your current role offers substantial financial benefits
New data from the Atlanta Federal Reserve reveals a surprising trend: since February, median wage growth for employees who stayed in their jobs has exceeded that of job switchers. This rare occurrence, unseen consistently since 2009, signals a shift in the job market and challenges the prevailing narrative of the Great Resignation. Staying put now offers surprisingly robust wage increases
The Great Resignation is over, but the Big Stay is here. White-collar workers are reaping the rewards of staying put, enjoying robust wage growth that surpasses those who switched jobs. Despite potential job dissatisfaction, financial stability and low layoff rates make staying in current roles a smart economic strategy in today's challenging job market
Job market slowdown favors experienced workers: Fewer job openings and reduced hiring mean established employees benefit from wage growth, while younger workers struggle to enter the field. This shift impacts hiring trends and salary increases for both job switchers and those remaining in their current roles
White-collar job seekers face a challenging market. Unlike those who remained in their roles, employers, prioritizing cost-cutting amid economic uncertainty, are less likely to hire externally. This lean hiring approach, coupled with low employee turnover, creates a competitive landscape for those seeking new white-collar positions
Job market shifts: White-collar job seekers face tougher competition as hiring slows and companies prioritize internal wage growth. Data reveals fewer high-paying job switches, with some workers accepting lower salaries, particularly in tech. Staying in your current role offers surprisingly strong wage growth compared to job-hopping
Zhao said that’s because, “Many job switchers today were involuntarily laid off, resulting in more workers having to settle for a lower-paying or lower seniority job.”
Berger said that in addition to weak hiring leading to fewer opportunities, there are also more people with a college education, which means more competition for jobs.
“It’s also possible that in some segments AI is slowing demand for white-collar workers, though I doubt this is as big as some people think,” Berger said.
There’s some good news in professional and business services, where the hiring rate continues to be strong and has been trending upward, although it’s still below its late 2021 high, and the sector has had several monthly net employment losses over the past year. The information sector’s hires rate is still low compared to the overall hires rate, but has climbed somewhat. Hiring in financial activities is lower than in the other two traditionally white-collar fields.
Job seekers are already lowering their expectations: The average lowest wage all workers would accept for a new job plummeted from $82,000 in November 2024 to $74,000 in March 2025. Among those with college degrees, it fell from $102,000 to $95,000 in the same period.
And the share of graduates in jobs that don’t require a degree ticked up for recent graduates in the first quarter of 2025, indicating that degree holders are overqualified for more roles.
“White-collar industries like finance, tech, and consulting are still appealing, especially for new grads, because of their promise of rapid career growth and high pay,” Zhao said. “But that promise of career growth and high pay is becoming less attainable and more exclusive due to the soft hiring environment.”
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