The attraction to the West

When looking at regional wage growth the West continued to impress in 2018. While wages for job holders are higher in the Northeast ($33.74), switchers in the West have both the highest average hourly wage ($30.22) and the highest wage growth rate (8.7 percent) in the country. These attractive wage gains have lured skilled workers to the region. In contrast, the South and Midwest experienced much lower average hourly wages growth rates (2.8 percent South, 3.4 percent Midwest).

What can employers learn from 2018 to better prepare for 2019? Here are four areas to know.

What it takes to attract and retain talent

One thing that is clear is attracting and retaining top talent has never been more important – or challenging. With a tight job market and steady employment growth this year, employers have never been under so much pressure to keep valuable employees engaged.

As a result, some industries have been willing to "pay up" to attract and retain skilled workers. When looking at wage growth for job holders and job switchers, holders saw the biggest wage increase in the leisure and hospitality industry (5.2 percent), while switchers experienced the greatest bump in the information industry (10.2 percent).

Was there movement in the gender pay gap?

In the face of deeper social concern around gender equality, is the pay gap closing? The average hourly wage for men is $31, up 2.2 percent this year. The average hourly wage for women is up 3.5 percent, yet they are still earning nearly $7.00 less than men at $24.

However, the ADPRI's recent study, Rethinking Gender Pay Inequity in a More Transparent World, found when bonus and incentive pay are considered the gender pay gap widens. On average, women are paid 17 percent ($15,000) less in base salary than men. However, when factoring in the gender pay gap for incentive pay (69 percent), the total earnings pay gap widens to 19 percent ($18,500).

Job hopping: Everyone is doing it!

Whether you know them as switchers or job hoppers, changing jobs is a tactic employees use to get ahead in their careers. However, while it's a common assumption that this behavior is limited to younger generations, ADP's Workforce Vitality Report (WVR) shows otherwise. The data actually shows that between the ages of 16 and 55, job switching occurs in every age group. In fact, in 2018, 7.7 percent of 16-24 year-olds switched jobs, 8.9 percent of 25-34 year-olds switched jobs, 4.8 percent of 35-54 year olds switched jobs and 6.3 percent of those 55 and older switched jobs.

The attraction to the West

When looking at regional wage growth the West continued to impress in 2018. While wages for job holders are higher in the Northeast ($33.74), switchers in the West have both the highest average hourly wage ($30.22) and the highest wage growth rate (8.7 percent) in the country. These attractive wage gains have lured skilled workers to the region. In contrast, the South and Midwest experienced much lower average hourly wages growth rates (2.8 percent South, 3.4 percent Midwest).