Average end-of-year bonuses increased about 2% in December as compared to 2023, climbing slightly from $2,447 to $2,503, according to a Jan. 16 report from Gusto.
At the same time, the share of workers receiving a bonus declined by almost 2% during the same period, which indicates that bonuses aren’t being applied equally among staff or across industries.
“This indicates that while some employers are continuing to use bonuses as a tool to keep their top performers engaged, they may not be paying bonuses to the entire staff, as we sometimes saw during the peak of the hiring market in 2021 and 2022,” Gusto’s Insights Group wrote.
For instance, average end-of-year bonuses increased significantly among white-collar industries such as communications (22%), technology (7%) and professional services (6%), the report found. These industries had some of the lowest wage growth in 2024 but are forecasted to have the highest wage growth in 2025, Gusto said.
However, many service industry workers had smaller bonuses in 2024, particularly in transportation and warehousing, where reduced demand led to a 10% decline in bonuses. Tourism, accommodations and personal services bonuses dropped significantly, too, which may signal a cooling period in 2025 after years of pandemic-era wage growth, Gusto said.
The overall increase in bonuses in most industries reflects a “general optimism among small business owners and managers as we head into 2025,” according to the report.
At the end of 2024, 3 in 5 companies said they planned to give holiday bonuses, according to a survey by Agital. However, most employees said they’d prefer a shorter workweek or fully covered health insurance over a cash bonus.
During the first half of 2025, more than half of workers plan to look for a new role, according to a Bartech Staffing report. Most job seekers said they want higher pay, better work-life balance, career advancement or flexible work arrangements.
Companies will likely see an ongoing rise in salaries and wages in the next 12 months, with an average 7.3% increase, according to a Deloitte survey. The bullish projection comes as CFO confidence in economic and business conditions soared to a 10-quarter high, the firm reported.
