Workers prioritize job security over pay raises in 2025: Zety study
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — A new report reveals that wage growth has stalled significantly in 2025, leading a majority of United States workers to prioritize job security over a pay increase.
According to Zety’s “Pay on Pause Report,” which surveyed 1,100 U.S. workers, 61% of employees are willing to accept a smaller or no raise this year, with nearly half avoiding asking for more money due to fears of layoffs and economic instability.
Sluggish wage growth shifts worker expectations in 2025
About 41% of workers haven’t received a meaningful pay raise in over two years, and nearly 3 in 10 workers indicated that their last pay increase was below normal.
This trend has redefined raises, as the report notes, “Raises are no longer viewed as routine but as a reflection of a company’s overall financial health and commitment to its workforce.”
Consequently, employee expectations are becoming tempered by economic reality. While 45% of workers believe a 4% to 6% raise is fair, and 35% feel they deserve 7% to 10%, most are not pressing the issue.
Indeed, 66% avoided requesting a raise this year due to external pressures, including tariffs, and 71% believe their organization cannot afford it, which is indicative of a broad-based acceptance of the status quo characterized by low pay.
Employees trade pay raises for stability amid uncertainty
With financial strains, workers are secretly reevaluating the conventional trade-off between work and money, favoring job security over monetary gain.
The survey found that 61% of workers are now more willing to accept not getting a raise or even a lesser raise, with 34% working harder or longer hours specifically due to concerns about job security.
This trend is a direct reaction to apparent company practices, such as reducing budgets to raise salaries or bonuses (89%), layoffs or reorganization (70%), company closures (59%), and a hiring freeze (50%).
This recalibration is a sign of a broader shift toward survival mode, as opposed to career progression, in most organizations. Fifty percent of all the surveyed employees said that they are happy they have a job, and 36% that they are underpaid but remain.
Although this is a sign of a stagnant situation, the statistics reveal a simmering issue beneath the surface, with 64% having a high probability of seeking a new job within the next six months, indicating that the current concessions in pay may not be permanent.
The report concludes, “The shift suggests employees are reassessing what career stability really means. Many are staying put for now, but growing uncertainty could make them more responsive to new opportunities once conditions improve.”
As global labor markets brace for recovery, this deferred pay pressure could trigger renewed churn once confidence rebounds.
