It pays to switch jobs again, but not everyone has that luxury
Data from the Federal Reserve indicates that workers who switch jobs are once again seeing higher wage growth compared to those who stay in their current roles. However, the overall low quits rate suggests that many employees remain cautious about the job market's stability.
Why it matters
The return of a 'job-switching premium' serves as a key economic indicator for labor market health and worker confidence in the post-pandemic economy.
Job switchers are getting bigger raises than job stayers again. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Job switchers are experiencing better wage growth than job stayers. Last year, both groups saw similar increases, defying historical trends. Still, not everyone can leave their job or find a new opportunity right now. It's once again better to switch jobs than stay in your current gig if you want a raise. "Wage growth for workers who change jobs is picking up again in 2026, even as raises for those who stay put keep slowing," Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau, vice president for macroeconomic research at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said in a LinkedIn post. That's based on 12-month moving averages of median wage growth for job switchers and stayers tracked by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta using Current Population Survey data.
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