Dive Brief:
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A new compensation report suggests workers' wages and benefits barely edged upward during the first quarter of 2015.
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Private sector employers spent an average of $31.65 per hour on wages and benefits for each employee in March, reports the Labor Department. That's up 1 percent from December's $31.32 hourly compensation and 5.5 percent higher than last March's $29.99.
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The data continues the trend of sluggish wage and compensation gains for America's workforce.
Dive Insight:
"Everybody's waiting for the other shoe to drop on wages," Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at employment site Glassdoor, told U.S. News. "We know wages will eventually start picking up."
U.S. News said the Labor report hinted that plenty of employers are looking to attract talent, but aren't having much luck finding it. While compensation is one of the most fundamental ways an employer can attract new talent, raising wages is not an employer's only option, the article says.
Other compensation options include health insurance, paid leave and flexible working conditions. A combination of flexible schedules, telecommuting and reduced hours is about equivalent to offering 10 paid vacation and sick days or between $5,000 to $10,000 in extra salary, according to the report.
