In 2026, 36% of U.S. organizations gave across-the-board pay increases also known as peanut butter raises . The report said these types of raises can be demotivating, with 25% of firms saying they lost employees in 2026 “due to insufficient pay increases.” The most popular type of pay raises last year were merit increases , per the report, which added that some companies handed out different types of increases and some combined across-the-board pay increases with other types of raises. That said, 63% of companies expect their salary budgets to stay the same, compared to 68% that said this a year ago. When inflation spiked after COVID, turnover also increased, which led to increased pay raises.