“PEANUT BUTTER” RAISES  

New compensation reporting from Payscale indicates that while 48% of companies still plan to award performance-based pay increases, a growing percentage are implementing or considering “peanut butter” raises.  This approach provides small, uniform, across-the-board pay increases to all employees equally rather than merit-based bonuses.  Consulting firm Mercer has also noted this trend. 

Median pay increases for 2026 are at 3.5%, the same as 2025.     

You can read about the Payscale report here 2026 Pay Trend: Peanut Butter Pay Increases on the Rise .