A new report from tech-focused recruiting marketplace Hired.com has found that over the last two and a half years, there has been a global increase in salaries across nearly all tech roles.

According to Hired.com's 2022 State of Tech Salaries: Navigating an Uncertain Hiring Market report, salaries for tech candidates remain at an all-time high, with remote salaries outpacing local salaries in most markets. This has primarily been driven by the growth in salaries of professionals with three or more years of experience.

However, this wasn't the case for all job roles in the technology sector. Hired.com's data found that salaries rose globally across almost all roles except product management, while engineering management roles still pay the highest among tech roles across the US, UK and Canada.

These findings are based on the analysis of more than 907,000 interview requests over 47,000 active positions advertised on Hired between January 2019 and June 2022.

Although the findings are a source of good news for experienced tech workers, the data was less positive for graduates or people looking to transition into the tech industry. Hired found that although the number of companies seeking to hire remote junior-level talent has grown, local salaries for junior-level candidates have failed to grow as quickly as salaries for professionals with more years of experience.

Globally, if a candidate wants to earn a top tech salary, it will most likely be found in the US, where salaries are highest. The UK had the lowest average tech salaries globally.

The job market still favors the candidate (for now)

Over the last couple of years, the job market has been in a state of flux, initially fuelled by pandemic-induced layoffs and followed by the Great Resignation, which saw employees shift the conversation about workplace expectations by changing jobs en-masse.

Although Hired's survey data found that 27% of respondents believe that power in the recruitment process will swing back to employers in the next 6 months; for the time being, candidates continue feel emboldened, willing to leave their current role for better fit and higher-paying opportunities. 57% of employees surveyed are planning on looking for a new job in the next six months, and 22% are considering it.

If denied an expected raise in the next six months, 90% of candidates would start looking for a new job immediately. Half of the respondents expect salary increases by 2023.

However, despite demand for candidates remaining relatively consistent on a monthly basis since mid- March 2022, Hired's data shows that there are now fewer candidates for companies to send interview requests to, per role, compared to 2021.

And, although salaries increased on average in 2022, most employees feel their salary is not in line with inflation and the increased costs of living seen this year. Almost 65% of remote employees and 82% of local employees surveyed said they did not feel their salaries have kept up with rising inflation and living costs.

Remote work impacts salaries

The shift to remote work since 2020 represents one of the biggest changes to global workplace culture and Hired's data shows that employees and employers alike continue to embrace this new way of working.

Businesses of all sizes are more open to interviewing candidates from other locations while job seekers are showing an increased preference for remote-only roles. As of June 2022, 31% of all active job seekers on Hired's platform were open to "Only Remote" roles, up from 18% in January 2022.

As a result, the report found that remote roles are now paying$3,000 more on average in 2022, and 15 out of 17 markets had higher remote salaries versus average local pay-up from 13 markets in 2021.

However, while businesses of all sizes show more openness to interviewing candidates from other locations, for one open position in 2022, employers interviewed candidates across an average of 4.4 different markets but only 2.1 time zones.

Candidates are also continuing to show strong interest in remote roles, with 98% of respondents preferring a remote or hybrid opportunity.

Additionally, despite the current economic climate, remote and flexible work remains a top priority for employees. When asked if they would be willing to return to work in the office, if it meant greater job security, 54% of candidates stated yes, but would start looking for other jobs with more flexible remote work options immediately. Only 33% of respondents would trade remote work for a fully in-person role with a higher salary.

Josh Brenner, Hired CEO said that the hiring climate this year has been full of contradictions and challenges, with climbing salaries, aggressive hiring, and layoffs all happening at once.

However, Brenner believes the hiring landscape remains competitive, especially as companies look to innovate and diversify their teams through remote work.

"We're seeing salaries rise globally as employers expand their talent pools and candidates find more opportunities outside their backyards," he said in a press release accompanying the report.

To ride out what Brenner labelled the "storm of uncertainty," he said companies should look to shift away from hyper-growth and embrace more efficient growth, responding to what's important to employees, staying the course on important initiatives, and continuing to nurture their employer brand.