AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Slow wage growth continues to impact many U.S. workers, with 89% of moonlighters planning to keep their part-time second jobs in 2016, most often just to make ends meet, according to a new survey by job site Indeed.
In the survey, which polled 3,058 people nationally with full-time jobs, over a third did some other kind of work to supplement their income in 2015. About half of that subset said they did so in order to keep up with the “cost of living,” 16% cited changes in their family situation requiring more income, and just 14% said they were exploring “a new career.”
“Employers have been slow to raise salaries despite increasingly strong demand for workers in 2015, and this survey shows many wage earners don’t expect that to change in 2016,” said Tara Sinclair, Chief Economist for Indeed. “The survey shows the majority of people have second jobs to make ends meet, a situation we hope to see change as a stronger economy boosts wages.”
The survey re-emphasized government data that has seen wage growth hovering at a relatively low 2% despite strong job demand from employers. Of the workers polled, 62% said they saw little to no wage increases last year, 25% said their pay increased somewhat, and only 3% said they saw an over 4% raise.
Among full-time workers in the survey, 34% have additional part-time jobs. The results come even as Indeed job data shows strong employer demand for high-skilled workers in fields such as healthcare, information technology, and real estate.
“We continue to see a tale of two economies in the U.S., where high-skilled workers have a lot of negotiating power in job search, but those in the middle-to-lower rungs haven’t seen much movement,” said Paul D’Arcy, Senior Vice President at Indeed. “Both employers and job seekers can benefit from increased education and training for the jobs of the future.”
The national survey was conducted online by Censuswide on behalf of Indeed from November 11 to December 11, 2015, and included a representative sample of 3,058 workers across industries.
About Indeed
More people find jobs on Indeed than anywhere else. Indeed is the #1 job site in the world and allows job seekers to search millions of jobs on the web or mobile in over 60 countries and 29 languages. More than 180 million people each month search for jobs, post resumes, and research companies on Indeed, and Indeed is the #1 source of external hires for thousands of companies (sources: SilkRoad & iCIMS). For more information, visit indeed.com.
