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Job openings declined to a roughly three-year low in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The labor market is still strong, characterized by low layoffs and unemployment, economists said.
However, job applicants should be prepared for a more challenging hiring environment than in 2021 and 2022.

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A gradual cooling of the labor market has made it tougher to find a new job, but overall conditions are still favorable for job seekers.
“Things have gotten competitive,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.

“Don’t get discouraged; there are opportunities out there,” she added. “This is still a strong labor market.”

Signs of a cooling labor market

National job openings in April fell to their lowest level in more than three years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.
Job openings are a barometer of employer demand for labor. They declined by 296,000 during the month to about 8.1 million, the least since February 2021, signaling a potential weakening in the job market.
Meanwhile, there were about 1.2 job openings per unemployed worker in April, down from a ratio of 2:1 about two years ago.
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April’s ratio is back to its pre-pandemic level, Jason Furman, an economics professor at Harvard University and former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, wrote on X.
The hiring rate has also gradually fallen to below its pre-pandemic level, as has the quits rate, a gauge of workers’ sentiment about their job prospects, according to BLS data. Both were unchanged in April, though.
“The reduction in quits [and] hires alike likely explains why some feel the job market is sluggish [and] especially tough for new/returning workers,” Daniel Zhao, lead economist on Glassdoor’s economic research team, wrote on X.
Overall, labor data points to a “trajectory of modest cooling,” Zhao said.

But there’s strength, too

The job market has slackened from red-hot levels in 2021 and 2022, when metrics like job openings and turnover hit unprecedented heights, a period that came to be known as the “great resignation.”
The U.S. Federal Reserve raised borrowing costs to pump the brakes on the economy and labor market, ultimately to throttle back inflation.
Labor data on Tuesday “provided further evidence of normalization” toward a pre-pandemic baseline, Thomas Ryan, a North America economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a research note.
The labor market that directly preceded the Covid-19 pandemic is generally lauded by economists as a historically strong one for workers, characterized by low unemployment, solid wage growth and one of relatively good job opportunities.

There are indicators the U.S. job market remains strong and resilient despite headwinds, economists said.
For one, total job openings still exceed their pre-pandemic peak. The layoff rate has largely hovered at historical lows for more than three years. The national unemployment rate has been below 4% — a level indicating historical labor market strength — since February 2022. Workers’ pay raises have beaten inflation — meaning their buying power has increased — for the past year. And there are pockets of strength in hiring, as in industry sectors that employ lower-wage workers, for example.
Workers may feel disappointed by the current state of affairs due to their recent memory of a gangbusters job market, however, economists said.
“2021 may have felt fantastic for jobseekers, but it’s not the way things worked before and it’s not the way things will be forever,” said Pollak of ZipRecruiter.
The current job market is more sustainable, she said. A gradual cooling may also help influence the Federal Reserve to soon start lowering borrowing costs for consumers.

Be prepared for more competition

Job seekers should be prepared for a somewhat more challenging experience, such as a 10% to 20% increase in applicants for many job listings, Pollak said.
They should be sure to apply to jobs on a frequent basis, put their “best foot forward” and keep in mind that employers generally only look at resumes they receive within the first few days to one week, she said.
“You may not be wined and dined [by employers] quite the same way,” she added. “You may need to search a little harder and longer, but there are good matches being formed in this labor market, and they’re pretty stable.”

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When TikToker Megan Boni sang about trying to find a “man in finance” with a “trust fund,” the world took notice.
However, landing a Wall Street “finance bro” does not guarantee financial security, some experts say. In fact, it can come with risks.
If you plan to wed, a prenuptial agreement can provide a level of protection for both parties.

Finance bros are having a moment.
Just ask content creator Megan Boni, who posted a clip from her account @girl_on_couch on April 30 hashing out a new song. The lyrics are simply: “I’m looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6’5″, blue eyes…” Her 20-second video has more than 38 million views and counting.

A representative for Boni did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC, but Boni recently told People that the song was intended to poke fun at women who complained about being single but also had high expectations for potential partners.
“It was just making fun of that,” she said.
According to “Fair Play” author Eve Rodsky, “You can joke about things if they don’t feel serious to you, but it’s sort of like joking about reproductive rights.”
“It comes back to not understanding our history,” Rodsky said.
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Still, there are many reasons why the lyrics resonated with millions of TikTok users.
“We’ve heard so much about how bad the dating apps are, how dire the dating landscape is,” said Casey Lewis, a social media trend expert and founder of trend newsletter After School.
“There are a lot of single women who are looking but not finding what they want,” Lewis added.

‘Lock down a man in finance, then you’re kind of made’

The search for a wealthy “finance guy” comes at a time when more women report feelings of frustration and financial vulnerability.
“There’s this feeling that no matter how hard women work … we’re still barely making ends meet,” Lewis said.
Although women are achieving increasing levels of education and representation in senior leadership positions at work, they still earn just 84 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the National Women’s Law Center. It’s a dynamic that has shown no significant signs of improvement in decades.
“There’s this sort of feeling like, ‘If I just lock down a man in finance,'” Lewis said, “then you’re kind of made.”
“The finance guy can probably take care of you and shower you with nice things — it’s appealing,” she added.

A return to traditional gender roles

The idea of seeking out a finance man comes on the heels of TikTok’s “tradwife” and “stay-at-home girlfriend” trends, which also glamorize a return to traditional gender roles and stereotypes.
However, landing a Wall Street-type does not guarantee financial security, Rodsky said. “When you enter an arrangement like this, you are taking a huge economic risk,” Rodsky said.
Once you have ceded power, and your partner has the economic advantage, you are especially vulnerable, she explained. “There is often a misalignment of expectations,” Rodsky added.
So “if you are going to do it, do it with a prenup or postnup,” she said.

‘Prenuptial agreements can get very dicey’

If you plan to wed, it may be worth determining how you and your spouse would each protect your assets and financial interests in case you end up going your separate ways.
And if it’s “the man in finance with a trust fund,” he and his family will likely have a greater interest in protecting the family wealth — as well as the resources to make sure the agreement reflects that, said Heather Boneparth, a writer and former corporate attorney who now runs business affairs for Bone Fide Wealth, a wealth management firm based in New York City.
“It’s not nefarious and doesn’t mean they are trying to pull one over on you; it’s just probably the truth,” Boneparth said.
Having your own legal representation from a separate firm will help you negotiate the contract and meet your needs without a conflict of interest, said Kelly Schwab, a family and matrimonial attorney at Chemtob, Moss, Forman and Beyda, LLP in New York City.
“It’s not a joint venture. Prenuptial agreements can get very dicey,” Schwab said.

If handled wisely, you can use the prenup as a level of protection by including certain guardrails, such as an equalization clause, which requires one spouse to pay the other a fixed amount should they divorce, said Julia Rodgers, a family attorney, co-founder and CEO of HelloPrenup, an online platform for affordable prenup agreements.
Overall, “you need to fully understand and feel comfortable with what you’re signing,” said Boneparth.

Marriage is ‘also an economic arrangement’

For better or worse, money plays a big role in most relationships.
“Marriage is a union of love, but it’s also an economic arrangement,” said Stacy Francis, a certified financial planner and president and CEO of Francis Financial in New York.
And regardless of who has greater financial resources or earning capacity, both partners should be involved in decisions about money, said Francis, who is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.
“For women, it’s building their financial confidence,” she said.
“When it comes to dollars and cents, you need to be able to take care of yourself and not 100% solely rely on a man,” she added.
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“Spaving,” or spending more to save more, has become a dangerous habit for cash-strapped Americans amid elevated inflation and mounting debt.
Though inflation eased in April, the consumer price index was still up 3.4% from a year prior. 

Despite higher prices, Americans continue to spend.
To that point, credit card debt reached $1.12 trillion in the first quarter, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

‘Consumers are hyperreactive to deals’

Retailers are increasing promotions to combat their slimmer margins. Between March 2023 and March 2024, temporary price reductions were up by 72% and overall promotions rose by 15%, according to data analytics company Numerator. Free shipping offers, “buy one, get one free” deals and order minimums are successful ways companies get consumers to “spave.”
“If you’re spending more money because now you’re focused on the deal as opposed to what you’re getting, that’s when it becomes really, really dangerous,” said Charles Chaffin, co-founder of the Financial Psychology Institute.
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The personal savings rate — or how much people save as a percentage of their income — has been on the decline as households spent down pandemic savings and stimulus checks. In April, it was 3.6%, compared to an all-time high of 32% in April 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
“Consumers are hyperreactive to deals because they feel like they have less money than they’ve ever had,” said Melissa Minkow, director of retail strategy at consulting firm CI&T. “It’s just a weird mix of variables that is creating this very unique retail environment.”

While spaving isn’t always negative, continuing to make unplanned, impulse purchases can have devastating effects on consumers’ long-term financial goals.  
“On a basic level, if we’re incurring debt that we can’t pay back, it’s going to affect our credit score, which is going to have a huge impact on our ability to buy a house, on financing of large purchases and whatnot,” Chaffin said. 
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Real estate investor activity jumped 0.5% from a year ago, according to Redfin.
It’s the first increase in activity since mid-2022.
Here’s what that growth means for buyers on the market.

What an investor home purchase means

In this context, investors are defined as any institution or business that purchases residential real estate, according to Redfin. Investor purchases typically reflect buyers who are purchasing a home using a limited liability company, or LLC, another form of company or a trust, and are typically buying the home to generate income or a profit. Some intend to use the house as a part-time residence or vacation home.
Investor share refers to the portion of homes purchased by investors over a certain period, said Chen Zhao, senior economist at Redfin.

In the first quarter of 2024, the share of homes purchased by investors was 19%, according to Redfin.

“That implies that around 81% of homes, by our measurement, are being purchased by people who are not investors, so they’re probably buying their homes to make them their primary residence,” said Zhao. 
Institutional operators, or real estate investors who own at least 1,000 single-family homes, own about 1% of the total housing stock in the U.S., according to an analysis from research site ResiClub, based on data from Parcl Labs, a real estate data firm.

Gauging investor effect ‘is complicated’

In a new report, Moody’s Analytics looked on a metro-by-metro level at the relationship between investors’ share of sales and homeownership rates, or the number of households that own their homes.
“It looks like there’s a pretty weak relationship between the two,” said Matthew Walsh, assistant director and economist at Moody’s Analytics.
In other words, he said, there’s not much evidence for crowding out homebuyers from the market.  
Based on the analysis, “these investors aren’t really taking up a significant portion of the housing stock and keeping traditional family buyers from owning their homes,” he said.
Investors bought existing homes at high rates in some areas, Moody’s found, in some cases representing up to roughly one-third of purchases. But even that doesn’t necessarily point to consumer homebuyers being crowded out, Moody’s analysts told CNBC.

It’s almost impossible to measure how much of a “crowding out” effect there is on the market, said Redfin’s Zhao.
“Answering that question is really, really complicated. And it’s not something that you can do just by looking at fairly straightforward data,” Zhao said.
Part of the recent increase in real estate investor activity is due to seasonality, as more homes are typically sold during the spring, Walsh said.
Additionally, mortgage interest rates were at a lower level at the start of 2024 before picking up in April, he said.
Back in 2022, the housing market was at a peak, when home sales were high until halfway through the year, said Walsh. Sales began to decline as mortgage rates climbed, as higher interest rates affect both typical homebuyers and investors, he said.

What investor interest means for buyers and renters

If you’re a consumer buying on the market, you are competing against investors on top of other typical homebuyers, Zhao explained.
“You have to think about what investors are doing with those homes, and that’s where it gets a little bit more nuanced,” she said.

Many investors rent out single-family homes. While that may not be good for potential buyers, “it’s a positive sign” for renters because it’s boosting the area’s rental supply, Zhao said,
“People looking for those bigger rentals, having additional supply there is really important,” she said.
On the other hand, some investors buy properties that are considered uninhabitable, fix them up and then add them back into the housing supply — which is ultimately good for the housing market, she said.
“It’s very much a nuanced argument when you’re thinking about, what does investor activity mean for the housing market,” said Zhao.

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The 401(k) plan savings rate reached 14.2%, including employee and company contributions, as of March 31, according to a Fidelity analysis.
That’s the closest the combined savings rate has ever been to Fidelity’s recommended 15% benchmark.
Automatic 401(k) enrollment and yearly increases have contributed to higher employee deferrals.

Halfpoint Images | Moment | Getty Images

How much to save for retirement

“The 15% is just a goalpost,” with the understanding that everyone’s situation is different, said Mike Shamrell, vice president of thought leadership for Fidelity’s Workplace Investing. 
The right retirement savings rate depends on your age, expected retirement date, cash flow, projected Social Security income, pensions and retirement plans, among other factors.

However, “if you can’t reach that 15%, at least try to contribute [enough] to get your full company match,” Shamrell said.

If you can’t reach that 15%, at least try to contribute [enough] to get your full company match.

Mike Shamrell
Vice president of thought leadership for Fidelity’s workplace investing

The most common match formula for Fidelity plans is based on a 5% contribution rate with a 100% match on the first 3% of employee deferrals and a 50% match on the next 2%. In other words, if 5% is $100, the company would match $80, Shamrell said.
“We have target savings rates of 10% to 30% depending on the household,” said certified financial planner Andrew Herzog, an associate wealth advisor at The Watchman Group in Plano, Texas.
For example, a 20-year-old barely making ends meet may struggle to save 10%, whereas a 50-year-old couple may need to stretch their savings rate to 20% to reach their target retirement dates, he said.

401(k) savings rates are increasing

Over the years, both the individual savings rate and company contributions have continued to climb, said Shamrell with Fidelity. 
Many companies automatically sign eligible employees up for the 401(k) plan, leaving them to opt out if they don’t want to participate. While the default contribution rate for such auto-enrolled 401(k) plans was 4.1% last quarter, nearly 40% of auto-enrolled plans started employee deferrals at 5% or higher, according to Fidelity.
Automatic 401(k) contribution increases have also boosted savings rates, according to Shamrell.
More than 33% of plan participants increased 401(k) contributions at the end of 2023 — and about three-quarters of those increases were automatic adjustments, he said.  

About 78% of 401(k) plans that auto-enrolled employees also had auto-escalation in 2022, according to a yearly survey from the Plan Sponsor Council of America.
After combining those factors, “you start seeing some really positive trends in terms of savings rates,” Shamrell added.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced that buy now, pay later providers must comply with U.S. credit card laws. 
But many already do, and the bigger issue is that BNPL loans have largely gone undetected because they still aren’t reflected on credit reports, according to Marshall Lux, a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau declared that buy now, pay later customers should have the same federal protections as users of credit cards.
However, Marshall Lux, a fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School who studies BNPL, says the government’s latest guidance is already a few steps behind.

“What substantively changes? Nothing really,” he said.
The new regulation means the industry — currently dominated by fintech firms like Affirm, Klarna and PayPal — must make refunds for returned products or canceled services, investigate merchant disputes and pause payments during those probes, as well as providing bills with fee disclosures.
In fact, major buy now, pay later providers already provide such safeguards for users.
“We’ve got an industry that’s moving at light speed and a regulatory process that takes time,” Lux said.
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The Financial Technology Association, an industry trade group representing companies such as Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal and Zip, said it welcomes the guidance for the rest of the industry.
“FTA member companies are committed to strong consumer protections, including for disputes and refunds, and agree these protections should be applied consistently across the industry and to those companies claiming to offer buy now, pay later-like services,” said Penny Lee, FTA’s president and CEO.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of Klarna, said he has called for this type of regulation for years.
“We support the CFPB’s guidance to protect consumers from harmful players, and Klarna already investigates consumer disputes, covers related refunds and provides purchase information in the Klarna app,” he told CNBC.

‘This is a looming debt problem’

Lux said a key gap in the CFPB’s efforts is regulating how BNPL lenders provide data to the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Up until now, installment payments have largely gone undetected in debt tallies, primarily because most lenders don’t report their customers’ loan information and payment history.
“If I were going to do one thing, it would be this,” Lux said of regulating how a consumer’s BNPL history could factor into their credit history and ultimately their credit score.
“This is a looming debt problem, which we don’t have our hands on yet,” Lux said.

This is a looming debt problem, which we don’t have our hands on yet.

Marshall Lux
fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School

A spokesperson for the CFPB told CNBC the agency has “been monitoring this issue closely and we’re starting to see some progress.”
“But we continue to share concerns that mortgage, auto, and even other BNPL lenders cannot get a full picture of a potential borrower’s debt burden when BNPL is not reported,” the spokesperson said. “So we will continue to surface options on how the industry and consumer reporting companies can develop appropriate and accurate BNPL credit reporting practices.”
For now, BNPL operates “in de facto stealth mode,” Tim Quinlan, senior economist at Wells Fargo, recently told CNBC.
“Because no central repository exists for monitoring it, growth of this ‘phantom debt’ could imply total household debt levels are actually higher than traditional measures,” Quinlan said.

BNPL ‘can easily push consumers further into debt’

Buy now, pay later, which typically splits a purchase into a few interest-free payments, is one of the fastest-growing categories in consumer finance, according to a report by Wells Fargo.
Now, short-term financing plans are one of the most-used forms of credit — second only to credit cards — among consumers, according to a separate report by NerdWallet.

But as BNPL has become more popular, users have become more prone to overspending and missed or late payments, other studies show.
“With rising inflation and the ongoing debt crisis, now more than ever, it’s important that consumers are thoughtful with their purchases and payment methods,” said Michael Hershfield, founder and CEO of Accrue Savings.
“Platforms like BNPL have grown in popularity, even for everyday essentials, but can easily push consumers further into debt,” he said.

‘This is just the beginning’

“This is just the beginning of the CFPB’s regulation of the BNPL industry,” according to Erin Bryan, co-chair of international law firm Dorsey & Whitney’s consumer financial services group.
“This is the most significant regulatory response to BNPL to date,” she said.
For now, much of what consumers like about BNPL products is that they are different from traditional credit cards — “they typically don’t affect a user’s credit rating, the repayment terms are short, and they are available with the click of a button,” Bryan said. 
“The key question is whether the CFPB’s regulation of BNPL providers will ultimately make their products less appealing to consumers,” she added. 
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Financial TikTok, also known as #FinTok, is now one of the most popular sources for financial information, tips and advice, particularly among Gen Z.
“Loud budgeting,” “cash stuffing” and the “no-spend” challenge are just a few of the latest money-saving trends going viral.
There is no substitute for establishing a routine you can sustain over time, experts say.

Peshkova | Getty Images

From cash stuffing to loud budgeting, TikTok is chock-full of ways to build wealth — and more people are taking notice.
Financial TikTok, also known as #FinTok, is now one of the most popular sources for financial information, tips and advice, particularly among Generation Z.

With less access to professional advisors and a preference for obtaining information online, Gen Zers are more likely than any other generation to engage with finfluencer content on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, according to a report by the CFA Institute.
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In fact, Gen Zers are nearly five times more likely than adults in their 40s or older to say they get financial advice — including stock tips — from social media, according to a separate CreditCards.com report.
But even the best advice can backfire. Here is what you should know before jumping on the latest money-saving trend.

‘Loud budgeting’ can ‘lead to frustration’

“Loud budgeting,” which encourages consumers to take control of their finances and vocalize making money-conscious choices over other activities, such as going out with friends, is one of the top trends of the year.

While scaling back on discretionary spending is key to better budgeting, limiting your social interactions also comes at a cost, according to Paul Hoffman, a data analyst at BestBrokers, who wrote a recent report on harmful FinTok trends. Before passing on a movie or dinner date, consider that turning down those invitations can “lead to frustration and emotional distress,” he said.

There may be better ways to cut back, Hoffman advised, without sacrificing time with the people close to you. “It’s important to find a balance between saving and engaging in enjoyable activities,” he said.

‘100 envelope’ trick creates a missed opportunity

More young adults are also trying the “100 envelope” method, which suggests saving a dollar more each day for 100 days. On the first day, you’ll set aside $1, then $2 the next day and so on, so by the end of the 100-day period, you will have more than $5,000 saved.
This seems like a good idea “with a relatively low ceiling,” according to Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree. However, “if there’s ever been a time when you shouldn’t stick your money in a binder, it’s today when you can get 4% to 5% or more back in these high-yield savings accounts,” he said.

After a series of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, some top-yielding online savings account rates are now paying even more than 5%, according to Bankrate.com — well above the rate of inflation.
In this case, if you had $5,000 in a high-yield savings account earning 5%, you would have made roughly $250 in interest in a year.

‘Cash stuffing’ also forfeits interest

Another envelope method, called “cash stuffing,” advocates for dividing up your spending money into envelopes representing your monthly expenses, such as groceries and gas, to stay on budget and out of debt.
When the cash in one envelope is spent, you’re either done spending in that category for that month or you need to borrow from another envelope.
Yet, stashing cash not only forfeits the best returns in decades, but it also leaves you vulnerable to theft and could forgo the protections that come with consumer banking.
Whether and to what extent you are covered in case of a burglary may depend on your home insurance policy, whereas banks are covered by the FDIC, which insures your money for up to $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership category.

‘No spend’ challenges can be tough to sustain

Alternatively, the “no-spend” challenge promotes eliminating all nonessential purchases altogether for a week, a “no buy month” or even a full year, and putting the money that would otherwise go to dinners out or new clothes toward a long-term financial goal.
“The gamification can be kind of fun,” Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, recently told CNBC. But like any other quick fix, these challenges could be hard to sustain over time.
Rather than hop on the latest extreme fad, “it comes back to setting a budget and setting expectations,” he said.
Ultimately, there is no short cut to practicing good money habits, most experts say.
“No hack can teach you self-control, mindful spending or how to keep your balance low,” Hoffman added.
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Sixty percent of U.S. workers said they didn’t ask for higher pay when they were last hired, according to an April 2023 Pew Research Center survey.
Career experts urge employees to do market research before negotiating for more money or looking for a new job.
A discrepancy in pay between two comparable employees may not be malicious on the part of the employer and may be due to market conditions, experts said.

Early in her career, Kelly Harry worked at a major news organization in New York City as an account executive in ad sales.
“I was making $40,000 a year, and I really thought that that was a lot of money at the time, until I had a casual conversation with my co-worker who was actually complaining about making about $102,000 a year,” Harry told CNBC. “It never occurred to me until that conversation that I was severely underpaid.”

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Harry, who is an immigrant in the U.S. on DACA, said she was grateful to work at a well-known organization. DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a federal policy that provides eligible young adults who were brought to the U.S. as children with temporary work authorization.
She said she didn’t think to negotiate her salary when she received the job offer. This isn’t unusual; 60% of U.S. workers in an April 2023 Pew Research Center survey said they didn’t ask for higher pay when they were last hired. Of the remainder, 30% said they asked for higher pay and 10% said they don’t remember.

Why some workers are paid more

“The difference between someone who gets $55,000 and $60,000 a lot of times is just because person number two just asked for $60,000,” said Maddie Machado, founder of Career Finesse. “It’s not because they’re better at their job. It’s not because they’re more experienced. It is simply because they just asked for it.”
A discrepancy in pay between two comparable employees may also be due to market conditions. A phenomenon called “wage compression” can occur when newer employees are paid more than long-term employees because the recent hire was brought into the company at a time when the market valued their skills more.

“It’s possible that an objective person might say you’re wrong, that these pay differences are not really that different, or there’s justifications for them,” said Peter Cappelli, a professor of management at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the director of its Center for Human Resources.

Do market research on pay and skills

When Harry first learned her colleague was paid 2½ times what she was earning, she did what career experts recommend: She went “back to the drawing board” and researched what the market was demanding for her skills.
“The term underpaid shouldn’t be used to compare you to a colleague,” said Sho Dewan, career expert and founder of Workhap. “It should be compared to you and the market, and there’s always going to be a range in the market.”

“Compensation has a lot of different pieces to it,” Machado told CNBC. “It’s not just a simple formula that’s like years of experience equals this amount of money, education equals this amount of money, location equals this amount of money.”
When trying to determine where you fall within the range for your position, it’s safe to assume “you’re probably going to fall somewhere in the middle,” Machado said.
It’s also crucial to factor in your location, Machado said, due to the cost of living.

How to request a salary adjustment

Only 34% of Americans are satisfied with how much they are paid at work, according to a March 2023 Pew Research Center survey.
One option if you suspect you’re being underpaid is to request a salary adjustment from your employer. But career coaches say you should go into the conversation prepared.
“You should never bring up another co-worker’s name in that conversation,” Dewan said. “You should never say, ‘I had a conversation with Henry. I know we had the same experience [and] the same skills. I realized that he gets paid 20% more than me. I want the same salary as him.'”
This is where that market research comes in handy, along with highlights from your performance review.
“You can’t just go to your employer and be like, ‘I want to get paid more … simply based on vibes,” Machado said. “When you go for that salary adjustment, you want to bring in other data points [showing] the impact that you’ve brought to the company, because at the end of the day, they could just find somebody else who’s cheaper to do your job as well.”
It’s also important to avoid escalating to threats, Cappelli said.
“Often your boss doesn’t want to let you go,” Cappelli told CNBC. “But the people at the top who are trying to hold the line on pay just say, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t do it. Good luck.'”

When to find a new position

If your employer is unreceptive to a salary adjustment, you can always consider leaving, but career coaches say you should be careful how you go about it.
“If that does not work out for whatever reason, that is when you need to [ask yourself], will I ever get paid what I’m worth?” Dewan said. “And if the margins of you getting paid versus what market value is [are] too crazy high, that is when you should look at other options out there.”
If you do end up getting an outside offer, you can try to use it to leverage more money from your current employer.
“There are some employers who really want you to shake them down in the sense that they will match an offer if you get it from someplace else,” Cappelli said. “It’s a bad practice, but it is pretty common.”
“Sometimes it’s easier to just jump ship,” Dewan said.
That’s what Harry did.
“I ended up finding another opportunity, which happened to be way better. It was remote, a … healthier environment,” Harry said. “Ultimately, in the end, I’m now an assistant VP. Without that experience, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get here today.”
Watch the video above to learn more about what career experts recommend you do if you think you’re being underpaid. More