Ohio CEO pay soars, employee pay barely budges

The wage gap is widening between CEOs and workers of many top Ohio companies, including those headquartered in the Columbus area, a new report from the AFL-CIO shows.

Why it matters: Americans' purchasing power is suffering due to high inflation levels, all while CEO pay rises to historic heights.

The big picture: Some Ohio CEOs earn more than 100 times what their company's median worker earns, the Ohio Capital Journal reports.

• In 2021, CEOs of S&P 500 companies saw their pay increase by an average of $540,000 over the previous year, while average employees' wages increased by $1,303 in that time.
• With inflation factored in, this amounts to a wage decrease for ordinary workers.

Zoom in: The highest ratio of any Ohio company is Reynoldsburg-based Bath & Body Works. In 2021, then-CEO Andrew Meslow earned 1,662 times as much ($17.7 million) as a median worker did ($10,632).

• Other companies highlighted in the region include Dublin-based Cardinal Health (with a 259-to-1 pay ratio), Columbus-based Huntington Bank (165-to-1) and Columbus-based AEP (135-to-1).

Worthy of your time: Check out the full list.