People who switch jobs make more—especially in certain sectors—than those who stay with an employer, says a new study, although it depends on whether they’re full time or part time. In addition, workers who get hired via employee referrals could end up with the short end of the stick paywise, depending on their relationship to the employee who referred them.

An ADP study finds that while job holders—those who stay in a single job for at least a year—saw their wages grow by 4.3 percent year over year in the fourth quarter, job switchers—those who changed jobs during that year—only saw a 3.3 percent increase YOY in Q4. On average, job holders made an average of $10 more in hourly levels than job switchers. But when considering only full-time workers, the switchers made out better than the holders, with a gain of 4.9 percent compared with holders’ 4.3 percent.

Although wages haven’t grown significantly, the report says, employers are willing to fork over more cash for talent in IT and professional services that stayed put. But leisure and hospitality, on the other hand, paid off better for job switchers, with wage growth at 6.3 percent. A close second for job switchers was the information services industry, at 6.2 percent.

For those switchers, a move with a referral could make a substantial difference in their pay... depending on who refers them and their relationship to the referrer.

Another study, this one from Payscale, Inc., finds that some employees who are referred earn less per year than nonreferred employees in the same company—and if they’re referred by a family member or close friend, that could actually cut the average offer by about $1,600, after controlling for other factors influencing pay.

The most valuable referrals, the report finds, are those from a former coworker, colleague or client—but even so, there’s a “significant difference” in how even these referrals pay off: for men, they’re likely to result in an offer as much as $8,200 more, while for women those referrals will only get them another $3,700.

Not only do referrals affect salary offers, but the likelihood of prospective job candidates actually getting the referral varies. White women, the report says, are 12 percent less likely to have received a referral for their current position, while men of color are 26 percent less likely to have received a referral and women of color are 35 percent less likely to have gotten one.

Overall, about a third of new job offers go to people who received a referral.

Instant Insights /

Job switchers can make more, but be wary of referrals

More From HR Executive

Related Stories

Recommended For You