According to the ADP Workforce Vitality Report, overall wage growth increased by 1.7 percent year over year across all industries in the third quarter of 2017 and is slower than the 2.6 percent growth in wages reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The ADP Workforce Vitality Report tracks the same set of workers over time, which provides a more insightful picture of wage growth than overall wage growth. This set of workers includes job holders, who stayed in their same job for at least one year, and those who changed jobs, referred to as job switchers.

Key indicators from the report include:

  • Job holders’ wages grew by 4.4 percent and job switchers’ wages grew slightly less by 3.3 percent year over year in the third quarter
  • On average, job holders’ hourly wage levels were $10 more than that of job switchers
  • Tracking full-time workers alone, job switchers increased their wages by an average of 4.9 percent when compared to job holders, who saw their wages rise by 4.3 percent

Ahu Yildirmaz, co-head of the ADP Research Institute® states, “Despite the deceleration we’ve been experiencing in overall wage growth we continue to see evidence of the strengthening labor market when you look at specific areas. As employers strive to retain skilled workers, we see wage increases for full-time job holders in all sectors. Most notable are the information and construction industries.”