Organizations with pay transparency are more likely to attract qualified job applicants, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. The report found that 82% of US workers are more likely to consider applying to a job if the pay range was listed in the job posting.

“The path toward equity requires more than recognizing that there are systemic gaps that adversely impact one group over another and then addressing them proactively,” said Emily Dickens, SHRM’s chief of staff and head of public affairs. “It requires more directed education on the compensation process, increased engagement with compensation specialists and HR professionals, and an understanding of how to leverage one’s talent through personal advocacy when armed with this information and allyship within the organization.” 

The report also found that 74% of US workers are less interested in applying to job postings without a pay range, while 73% are more likely to trust organizations that list pay range than those that do not.

Forty-two percent of the HR professionals surveyed said their organization operates in a location that requires pay ranges to be included in job postings. However, when not required by law, more than two-thirds of HR professionals, 67%, say their organization voluntarily lists start pay in their job postings sometimes, often, or always.

SHRM surveyed 1,386 HR professionals across the US from Feb. 21 to Feb. 27 for the report.  

Salary transparency in job postings, even when not required: Hiring Lab

Separately, Indeed reported Tuesday that research from its Hiring Lab found than 43.7% of US job postings on Indeed now include employer-provided salary information, an increase of 137% in the last three years, due in large part to the introduction of transparency legislation and the tight US labor market — and the trend continues to rise.

Despite the overall increase in salary visibility in postings, the numbers vary significantly based on geography and occupation. 

Pay transparency requirements and tight labor market conditions are influencing higher rates of salary advertising in US job postings on Indeed. While some of the fastest increases in transparency are occurring in areas with active pay disclosure requirements, locations without regulations are rising significantly as well. In the last year, there has also been a surge in the share of high-wage jobs openly advertising salaries as employers seek ways to attract workers in the hot labor market.

According to the research, salary transparency tends to be highest in the West, where regulations are more common, and lowest in the South. Job postings for roles in childcare, security and public safety, and the dental fields are the most transparent, while positions in engineering and banking and finance typically offer less salary information in postings. Over the last year, the most significant rise in transparency has occurred in high-wage jobs, which have historically provided less pay information upfront.