At the same time, the share of workers receiving a bonus declined by almost 2%, which indicates that bonuses aren’t being applied equally among staff, a report found.

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. 

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Source : https://www.hrdive.com/news/end-of-year-bonuses-inched-upward-in-2024/738736/