{"id":10754,"date":"2024-03-07T13:06:12","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T13:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/?p=10754"},"modified":"2024-03-07T13:06:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T13:06:12","slug":"the-top-sectors-for-signing-bonuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/the-top-sectors-for-signing-bonuses\/","title":{"rendered":"The top sectors for signing bonuses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our data team has been busy, exploring signing bonuses across our millions of job ads and we noticed that there\u2019s recently been a big increase. In the months between December 2023 and December 2024, jobs that advertised a signing bonus increased from 474,595 to 522,781, a +10.4% increase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the total proportion of job postings with a signing bonus also increased from 4.9% to 6.9% in 12 months.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what does this mean if you’re currently seeking out a new job? Well, if you\u2019re looking for roles in sectors such as healthcare and nursing, you could expect a big boost to your first pay check! Read on to find out more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s a signing bonus?<\/h2>\n

A signing bonus, or sign-on bonus, is paid to employees once they\u2019ve started a new job. They can be paid in several ways. It could be a lump sum on your first day of employment (or even once you\u2019ve signed your employment contract), after you\u2019ve passed your probation, or spread out in installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re subject to tax, just like your salary, so the amount advertised won\u2019t be what you see in your bank account. To overcome this, some organizations might offer signing bonuses in the form of vouchers, travel perks, or even rent payments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Usually, they\u2019re a sign that a sector is experiencing a talent shortage, and employers are doing whatever they can to incentivize jobseekers to join their companies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, in some cases, sign-on bonuses are used to mask low wages. So when you\u2019re looking at roles, always look at the package as a whole. Are you <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> getting the best deal?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re getting a salary increase, a pension plan, bolstered private healthcare, and perks then a signing bonus could be a great additional extra to look out for. So why not start looking for roles with a signing bonus?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Top sectors for signing bonuses<\/h2>\n

Healthcare and nursing\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n

Healthcare and nursing have the most job ads offering signing bonuses. Nearly one in five jobs (17.9%) are offering successful candidates a big cash incentive!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We found 295,992 advertised jobs featuring signing bonuses, with an average signing bonus of $10,867.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Accounting and finance\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n

Accounting and finance comes out on top as the sector offering the highest average signing bonus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Applicants receive an average of $16,707 but less than 0.5% of jobs in this sector are advertising signing bonuses – so you\u2019d have to be one of the lucky few! That doesn\u2019t mean that you can\u2019t ask a company for a signing bonus, even if they\u2019re not advertising this perk, when you\u2019re negotiating your package.<\/span><\/p>\n

Logistics and warehouse\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n

A substantial 11.2% of job ads offer a signing bonus in the logistics and warehouse sector and it’s another industry where top talent is in high demand! The signing bonuses on offer are not to be sniffed at either, with average bonuses coming in at $6,196.<\/span><\/p>\n

With average salaries of $78,993, signing bonuses equate to just shy of one month\u2019s pay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Travel\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n

Peak travel recruitment season has led to another surge in signing bonuses. 8.5% of job ads in the travel sector are advertising a bonus with an average advertised bonus of $8,326.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is an industry that lost a lot of talent during the pandemic to other industries, so it\u2019s working particularly hard to get great talent back or find new talent elsewhere. Average salaries in this sector are relatively low, $61,926, so proportionally signing bonuses are a big salary increase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

IT<\/a><\/h3>\n

Although IT as an industry is advertising a relatively low proportion of signing bonuses (just 0.3% of jobs advertised a bonus) the jobs that were, are offering the big bucks! Signing bonuses were a huge $12,880 in this sector.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an industry with high average salaries, $89,972, candidates who don\u2019t receive a bonus could still expect a healthy pay packet!<\/span><\/p>\n

Creative and design\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n

Perhaps a surprising entry to this list is the creative and design sector. Traditionally thought of as lower paying than technical roles, signing bonuses suggest a different trend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For creative and design professionals, employers are recognizing their worth and offering an average signing bonus of $6,889 (in 1.5% of job ads).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Engineering<\/a><\/h3>\n

As a direct comparison with creative and design, engineering roles are offering similar signing bonuses ($6,843) to a similar proportion of candidates (2.1%).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This suggests that both technical roles (like engineering) and innovative thinking (creative and design) are valued by employers in relatively equal measure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Manufacturing<\/a><\/h3>\n

Another sector offering high signing bonuses is manufacturing. 4.2% of jobs advertised a signing bonus, ranking fourth compared to other industries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Manufacturing was also pretty high up our list in terms of average advertised signing bonuses. Ranking sixth compared to other sectors, jobseekers can land $7,954.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do I find roles with a signing bonus?<\/h2>\n

Looking for roles with a signing bonus is easy with <\/span>Adzuna<\/span><\/a>. With our handy Advanced Job Search tool, we\u2019ve made it as easy as ABC. In the search results page, simply select the \u201cadvanced\u201d button next to the search button in the right-hand corner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re in the advanced job search, type \u201csigning bonus\u201d, \u201cwelcome bonus\u201d or \u201csign-on bonus\u201d into \u201cmatching this exact phrase\u201d. Do one of these phrases at a time and you\u2019ll get a list of jobs advertising this perk, pretty cool right?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

What to consider before taking a signing bonus<\/h2>\n

A signing bonus is far from the only perk to look out for. Great healthcare, flexible working, extra holiday and sick pay, and maternity and paternity care are all fantastic incentives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, you might not see these benefits in your bank balance, but you\u2019ll definitely feel them when you need them most.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, make sure that a signing bonus isn\u2019t just a band-aid to cover up a poor salary. Once the bonus has all been paid, you\u2019d need an inflation-beating pay rise pretty quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Can I ask for a signing bonus, even when one isn\u2019t advertised?<\/h2>\n

Sure thing! Whenever you\u2019re looking for a new role it\u2019s so important to know your worth and negotiate. If you\u2019re in a position to negotiate, why not ask an employer what they can do to sweeten the deal?\u00a0<\/span>Here\u2019s what to consider:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Know your market rate<\/h3>\n

Use our <\/span>ValueMyResume<\/span><\/a> tool to find out what you should be getting paid. Research competitors, speak to your network, and look into pay and incentives within your niche.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re in salary negotiations and a company has said they can match your expectations, it\u2019s time to start thinking about a signing bonus too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Justify the expense<\/h3>\n

Are you relocating for this role, will you need to buy a new car, or commute more? Make sure you have a compelling case for a signing bonus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember, signing bonuses only go so far<\/h3>\n

Look beyond the upfront cash and make sure you\u2019re being paid fairly and being provided with a benefits package that works for you. These are only a one-time deal, so make sure you\u2019re not taking less than you deserve!<\/span><\/p>\n

Read the fine print!<\/h3>\n

So your signing bonus has been paid but you actually now want to leave the role. Make sure that there\u2019s no sneaky fine print that means you have to pay that money back if you leave within a certain amount of time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ready to start your job hunt and look for bonuses? What better place to begin than here at Adzuna<\/span><\/a>!<\/span><\/div>\n
\n

\"\"Read more: <\/strong>Top unpopular jobs in the US<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our data team has been busy, exploring signing bonuses across our millions of job ads and we noticed that there\u2019s recently been a big increase. In the months between December 2023 and December 2024, jobs that advertised a signing bonus increased from 474,595 to 522,781, a +10.4% increase.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, the total proportion of job Continued \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":10760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[148,135],"tags":[140],"class_list":["post-10754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-job-market","category-pay-benefits","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10754"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10780,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754\/revisions\/10780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}