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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Business
Gene Marks

Employers are spreading raises like peanut butter – and workers are paying the price

close up of hand spreading peanut butter with knife on bread
No one would say they’re jelly of these raises. Photograph: BravissimoS/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Looking forward to a raise in 2026? You may be getting “peanut butter”.

A new report from compensation software and data provider Payscale predicts that in 2026, many employers will be giving “peanut butter raises” to their employees – increases given “across the board” as opposed to being calculated individually based on performance or merit. They’re spread evenly, like peanut butter on a slice of bread.

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