Our Take
This confirms what every hiring manager already knows: compensation budgets haven't kept pace with candidate expectations, and pay transparency laws won't fix the underlying math.
Why it matters
With 60% of job seekers now refusing to apply without salary ranges posted, companies face a choice between losing candidates or posting ranges that expose their compensation constraints publicly.
Do this week
HR teams: audit your current salary bands against market expectations by role before pay transparency laws force disclosure in your state.
JobLeads finds $33K US salary expectation gap
JobLeads analyzed over 800,000 job postings and salary data from 245,000 candidates across multiple countries. The study found candidates globally expect $10,411 more than employers offer (per JobLeads research). The US leads with the largest gap at $33,332 between worker expectations and employer offerings.
Sales shows the widest industry gap, with professionals expecting around $133,000 but receiving about $88,000, a $44,000+ difference (company-reported). Legal and finance align more closely but still show $33,000-34,000 gaps respectively.
Internationally, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain follow the US in large expectation gaps. France and Germany buck the trend, with job offers exceeding expectations by $22,000 and $10,000 respectively.
Pay transparency creates disclosure pressure
The study attributes gaps partly to limited salary visibility preventing candidates from calibrating expectations to market reality. Monster research shows 60% of job seekers won't apply without posted salary ranges (per Monster survey), with over half citing missing salary information as their top application deterrent.
Multiple states and cities have enacted pay transparency laws recently, with the EU Pay Transparency Directive taking effect imminently. These laws force employers to disclose ranges that may highlight their inability to meet candidate expectations publicly.
Prepare for mandatory disclosure
Companies must decide whether to post realistic salary ranges that may discourage applications or risk losing 60% of potential candidates by omitting ranges entirely. The JobLeads data suggests 99% of applicants expect more than market rates, making this a universal challenge rather than a recruiting execution problem.
Organizations in states without pay transparency laws have limited time to address compensation strategy before mandatory disclosure requirements spread. The gap between expectations and budget reality won't disappear through transparency alone.