For a long time, many job ads said almost nothing about pay. That is changing fast. In a 2025 Mercer survey, only 54% of U.S. employers said they were prepared for pay-transparency compliance, up from 39% in 2024. At the same time, 92% said they expected to disclose hiring pay ranges in job postings by the end of 2026. In other words, companies may not feel fully ready, but they know the market is moving toward openness. (mercer.com)
You can already see that change online. Indeed reported that, as of May 2025, 59% of U.S. job postings on its platform included salary information. It also found that jobs with employer-provided salary details received 3.8 times more applications. For job seekers, this makes sense: a clear pay range saves time, reduces awkward surprises, and helps people decide quickly whether a role fits their life. (indeed.com)
Laws are one big reason for this shift. In New York State, private employers with four or more employees must show a pay range for advertised jobs, promotions, and transfer opportunities. In Washington, employers with 15 or more employees must include a wage scale or salary range, plus a general description of benefits and other compensation, in postings for Washington-based jobs. New Jersey’s pay and benefits transparency law took effect on June 1, 2025, and Massachusetts began requiring covered employers with 25 or more employees to disclose pay ranges in job postings on October 29, 2025. (apps.labor.ny.gov)
Does transparency really matter? Research suggests yes. An NBER working paper found that pay-transparency laws were linked to wage increases of about 1.3% to 3.6%. The New York Fed also found that the share of online job postings with pay information rose from an average of 15% before January 2018 to about 53% since January 2024. Still, the story is not finished: the same New York Fed analysis said that nearly a quarter of ads covered by mandates in early-adopting states were still missing wage information as of January 2025. So the age of hidden salaries is fading, but full transparency has not arrived yet. (nber.org)










