Executives Changing Jobs Averaged 16 Percent Compensation Spike

April 15, 2014 – For the fourth straight year, senior executives who changed jobs last year received compensation increases that topped 16 percent, reports executive search firm Salveson Stetson Group. The increases were above the 11 percent that was typical during the recession, but nowhere near the 25 percent increases in the two years before the recession began in 2008. “This data points to a continued – albeit slow – recovery of the job market,” said John Touey, principal at Salveson Stetson Group. “But it also demonstrates that companies are still in the driver’s seat with the ability to leverage the high unemployment rate to get a deal on talent.” The firm, which places executives in senior-level roles at corporations and nonprofits, analyzed compensation data from a sample of 25 senior executives who were recruited into new jobs in 2013. It found that the average compensation increase for a senior-level candidate accepting a new job last year was up slightly over the prior year, 17 percent in 2013 versus 16.5 percent in 2012.