# Job hopping pays again, if you actually move

> Switchers are pulling 7.3% gross pay gains while stayers get 4.4%, but almost nobody is quitting.
- Title: Job hopping pays again, if you actually move · Yahoo Finance
- Summary: Switchers are pulling 7.3% gross pay gains while stayers get 4.4%, but almost nobody is quitting. The pay premium for switching jobs is real and widening…
- Keywords: careers, wages, job market, salary negotiation, hiring, business, finance, Job, hopping, pays, again, actually
- Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/article/pay-is-back-on-the-rise-for-job-switchers-even-in-low-hire-job-market-154504463.html
- Published: 2026-09-13T15:45:04+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: careers, wages, job market, salary negotiation, hiring, business, finance
## Switching pays again
ADP's August data shows base pay up 4.7% for private sector job changers versus 3% for people who stayed put.
## The gap is even wider
Counting tips, commissions and bonuses, gross pay rose 7.3% for changers and just 4.4% for stayers.
## A second source agrees
Atlanta Fed data put the median raise for switchers at 5% in August, up from 4.4% in July. Stayers held flat at 3.6%.

> There is an opportunity to boost wages by changing jobs, even in this low-hire, low-fire jobs market.
## Your sector decides
Construction changers see the biggest bumps because employers cannot find workers. Leisure and hospitality is the only sector where changers earn less than stayers.

> Every sector tells a different story.
## Hourly and Gen Z win
Bank of America Institute found the largest raises going to hourly workers paid weekly and to Gen Z workers starting from low wages.

> For those people looking to change jobs, their bargaining power is definitely increasing.
## Employers cannot fill roles
Nearly 70% of HR professionals report trouble recruiting for full-time jobs, which is what hands applicants leverage on pay.
## The missing skills are soft
Eight in 10 HR pros say the hardest thing to find is communication, judgment, decision making, problem solving and time management. Not AI know-how.
## Nobody is moving yet
The quits rate has not budged despite the widening premium, per the Labor Department's JOLTS survey.

> So it is still not enough to really get a lot of workers to move yet.
## Confidence is creeping back
New York Fed data shows workers feel better about the job market, which economists read as a sign people may soon make the jump.

> That sense that you have the ability to change jobs indicates that there's underlying confidence.
## Money is one signal
Career coach Aileen Axtmayer says most clients leave because they feel undervalued, not underpaid. Weigh culture, manager fit, growth, flexibility and return-to-office rules too.

> A move can effectively reset your market value and establish a higher compensation baseline.
## Key takeaway

The pay premium for switching jobs is real and widening, but it varies sharply by sector and money alone is a weak reason to move.