Salary transparency is now more common in San Francisco Bay Area

Salary transparency in job postings has become much more commonplace, increasing the fastest in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a recent analysis by job platform Indeed.

Driving the news: A new state law went into effect in January requiring employers with 15 or more employees to include salary ranges in job postings.

Why it matters: The increase shows the pay transparency law has had an immediate effect, especially in San Francisco and its surrounding areas.

• Meanwhile, it suggests the power balance is beginning to shift in California, giving job candidates access to information that employers have historically kept obscured.

By the numbers: In February 2022, just 22.4% of job postings in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley listed salary ranges. That number had jumped to 63.8% in the SF Bay Area as of last month, Indeed found.

• Salary transparency in Silicon Valley (San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara) grew from 17% to 62.5% in that time period.
• Nationally, there was pay transparency on 43.7% of job postings last month.

What they're saying: "Pay transparency is key to eliminating wage gaps, and to reaching equal pay for equal work," Kristen Shah, Indeed's career trends expert, wrote in a statement. "It not only empowers job seekers, but it plays an important role in holding employers accountable."

Yes, but: Just 61.1% of tech employers are complying with the law in California, according to an analysis by compensation management startup Comprehensive.io.

• Companies that don't comply could be subject to penalties assessed by the state's labor commissioner's office ranging from $100 to $10,000 per violation.
• Anyone can file a retaliation complaint against an employer not in compliance with the law here.

Zoom out: Similar pay transparency laws exist in Washington state, Colorado, New York and others.

What to watch: How useful pay transparency is to potential candidates and current employees alike.