Healthcare tops the list of industries offering signing bonuses, according to Indeed job listings, The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 19.
Although hiring has cooled, organizations are still offering sign-on bonuses more often than during prepandemic years. And while some industries are desperate for qualified candidates, others have used bonuses to keep starting salaries down, the Journal reported.
Advertised in nearly 4% of jobs posted on Indeed in July, signing bonuses are less common than they were in 2023 but still higher than the 1.7% rate in July 2019.
Healthcare roles are most likely to see signing bonuses on Indeed. This includes a $2,000 bonus offered for pediatric nurses in Honolulu and a $100,000 bonus for a physician with experience treating patients with HIV at one California clinic, the Journal reported.
Despite a decline in job posts featuring bonuses, the dollar value of bonuses has remained consistent, Raheela Gill Anwar, chief executive of talent advisory firm Group 360 Consulting, told the newspaper.
Some organizations are willing to pay signing bonuses during negotiations but are not advertising them on job postings. Nearly 70% of those who received a sign-on bonus asked for it after the initial offer, Ms. Anwar said.