Tech Salaries and Bonuses Will Continue to Rise in 2014
IT employment has skyrocketed by 4.56% since December 2012. December 2013 rounded out with a 0.03% growth in IT jobs. With all of this growth it’s easy to see that IT professionals, particularly the talented ones, have a plethora of opportunity.
In order to remain competitive and retain the best IT talent on the market, many companies are offering steady salary increases. Average U.S. tech salaries raised nearly three percent to $87,811 in 2013, according to the 2014-2013 Salary Survey from Dice. Despite this reported raise in salaries, IT professionals have reported a declining level of salary satisfaction, which fell from 57% to 54% in the last year.
Technology professionals are taking notice that this is a promising time in their market and they’re looking for ways to grow their careers in 2014. The improvements in the market has given them the confidence and drive to seek out better opportunities to expand their career horizons this year.
Companies, in response, are clutching onto their IT employees so that they aren’t lured away by new opportunities. Retention strategies are being overhauled and budgets are being stretched thin in order to accommodate the overwhelming demand for IT professionals. Experienced tech talents, in particular, are reaping in the numerous benefits of these frazzled employers. These merit increases are driving the overall average salary increase further up and creating a drought of talented, experienced tech professionals in the unsatisfied or unemployed ranks.
Shravan Goli, President of Dice, says, “With the tech unemployment rate low, technology professionals know they can take control of their careers. Tech hiring managers tell me that they are stretching budgets where they can to keep their technology work forces focused and satisfied”. Overall the effort seems to be working as 45 percent of respondents noticed an increase in wages due to merit. More experienced professionals, those with over five years on average under their belt, are being rewarded with bonuses which averaged $9,323 as a part of their 2013 compensation.
What does this frantic spike in salaries and bonuses mean for companies looking to hire? They’ll have to outspend not only their competitors who are looking to hire for similar positions in 2014, but also the companies who are attempting to create compensation fueled loyalty in order to retain their best technology professionals for another year.