Feb 18, 2026 - Business
Pay premium for job hopping narrows to record low
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Job hoppers saw fat pay increases for a while, but not so much anymore.
- The pay premium for switching jobs these days is at its narrowest since ADP began tracking in 2020.
Why it matters: In this low-hire, low-fire job market, employers don't have to work as hard to hire people. There's no need to lure workers with high wages if there's a surplus of folks hungry for new roles.
By the numbers: Median pay increased 4.5% from last year for those sticking with their employer, per an ADP analysis of private employers.
- For job hoppers, the pay bump up was 6.4%.
- The benefit for switching jobs appears to have peaked in April 2022, when switchers saw median raises of 16% during the so-called Great Resignation. (Good times!)
Zoom in: The pay premium varies by industry. Workers in construction, mining and finance had wider premiums, per ADP data.
The intrigue: The ADP data only looks at the private sector, and might be overstating the pay premium for job switching.
- The premium has virtually vanished, per a separate measure from the Atlanta Fed, which tracks the three-month moving average of hourly median wage growth.
- The raise for job stayers was 3.5% compared with 4% for switchers, per that wage growth tracker.
