How much is a normal raise

[Sully64]

I am feeling heartbroken. I work hard, I am always on time. I switch shifts all the time when asked by my manager last minute. I am on 2 committees that are extra. I am also back in school working on my BSN. Well, we just got our annual raise, mine is almost 2%. I feel very hurt. What is normal? Of course we were told if we discuss compensation or raises in any way you can be fired for violation of the code of conduct. It was delieverd to us via email, not even face to face. I am now feeling like I want to give up my committees, since they cut into my school time, and as soon as I finish school IM OUT. Clearly no appreciation here. And when they continue to call me last minute to cover a shift, the answer will now be NO.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

We have not had a raise for 2 years and our wages are frozen for 2 years.

Two percent is fair and better than zero.

[Dogen]

Per our contract I get roughly 4% every year, plus an additional 2.5% every 5 years. Union hospitals, people. They're the bomb.

[Kitiger, RN]

I haven't had a raise for 6 years. I work for 3 agencies; they all pay the same.

[loriangel14, RN]

Ours follow our union contract. 2% is typical.

[jackiecap]

1-3% as others have said and it typically has to do with general inflation and increase in cost of living year over year.

[Jphillips33]

We recently just had a new contract agreement and will be getting a 3.5percent pay increase anually starting this sept for the next 3 yrs

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

My last raise was 0.7%. It worked out to be about 11c per hour

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

Unfortunately, the mediocre raises usually more than get eaten up by the health insurance premium increases...

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

LTC just got a 2% +.53 per hour

My real job (pays benefits) I got 3%

[Katie71275]

I believe mine was 3% last year plus I received a bump in pay (as did all staff) to bring the hourly pay more in line with what other hospitals in the area were paying)

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

Typical merit raises tend to be 1-3% from what I've seen. Lately, it seems that the economy has been a crutch that some employers are using as a reason (or excuse) for no raise when the annual reviews are passed out. About 6 years ago, I was working at a job where there was a question and answer session with the higher ups where we could submit questions anonymously and during the slide show presentation random questions were drawn and answered. Well, one employee asked why we hadn't received an increase in over two years and when we may expect to see one. We got a long drawn out explanation about how raises were not given in an effort to not increase our health insurance premiums once the new health care laws would go into effect. Ironically, the next slide showed that we had a severe (I cannot remember exactly but around 3x growth in less than a year). We could tell that the person giving the presentation felt awkward after just giving us the excuse earlier. Less than a week later we received an email about how we would be receiving a raise in the next paycheck, backdating to our review dates.

On the other hand, I had an employer that took our already crappy rates with no benefits and sent out a letter crying the blues of a poor economy and everything they had done to keep their rates 'competitive' (I've never seen a lower rate but whatever). Stated that everyone would be cut down by a $15/hr and if we didn't like it we could chose to leave by the date that it would take an effect. Many of us did end up living. The cost of living was just too high. The sad thing is that the agency already had a hard time finding good employees to staff their cases, and many families were desperate for nurses that the agency had promised but did not provide.

[Sully64]

Our employer constantly brags that business is booming, and they just opened another campus. It is also booming. When it comes to staff performance and hcaps, they want us to "be the best of the best and strive for excellence " but when it comes to pay and health care increases, they say "this is what everyone else is doing" . No striving for excellence on their end. :) My hospital pays less than most other hospital in the area, but that si the tradeoff of not driving into the metro area. I miss living in a state with union jobs, the pay and benefits were so much better. The non union hospitals had better pay and benefits in order to compete. Hopefully in the next few years we will move back.