Charles Schwab to give most of its employees a 5% raise

Charles Schwab will give "the vast majority" of its employees a 5% pay increase effective in late September, rewarding them for powering through the pandemic and adding to a growing list of companies sweetening compensation to keep workers in a tight labor market.

Schwab benefited from an increase in trading and rising stock markets during the pandemic, opening 4.8 million new accounts through June and doubling the amount of stocks, bonds and other securities it holds for customers to $257 billion compared with a year earlier, the company said in a statement yesterday. 

"This increase is a way to reward our talented employees for their contributions and their relentless commitment to see the world through clients' eyes, even during the most challenging times," CEO Walt Bettinger said in the statement. 

Schwab isn't alone in adding pay incentives. More than 1 in 10 paychecks issued in May contained a bonus, according to payroll firm Gusto in an analysis of companies with which it works. 

Hiring bonuses are also getting bigger. Indeed Hiring lab found that job postings are increasingly dangling incentives to lure applicants, in some cases with bonuses as much as $30,000.

Many of Schwab's top executives won't get the pay raise as they are already rewarded under what's called an incentive plan when Schwab performs well. The Westlake, Texas-based company had about 32,500 employees at the end of June.

Schwab, which competes with online trading firms like Robinhood, also said it will delay a full return to the office until January 22, joining a growing number of firms to do so as the COVID-19 Delta variant spreads across the country.