The average reservation wage — the lowest pay level Americans would be willing to accept — was $72,873 in July, Bloomberg reported Aug. 22, citing a labor market survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Four things to know:
1. The average reservation wage is up 5.7 percent from last July.
2. That figure is down slightly from the high of $73,283 reported by the Federal Reserve Bank in March.
3. The latest survey showed a widening gender gap, according to Bloomberg. The reservation wage for men rose to $86,259, while declining to $59,543 for women.
4. The reservation wage reported by Americans with less than a college degree, and those ages 45 or younger, has risen by more than 23 percent since March 2020.