“In today's tight talent market, companies need to ensure they're offering competitive compensation and benefits to attract highly sought-after talent, and they will rely on the insight of their managers in this domain to achieve that end,” the authors write.

The guide lists salary ranges for a number of HR positions starting at the entry level. Here are the guide's 2019 annual salary ranges for HR executive positions, broken down by the size of their companies in terms of revenue (the salary ranges are “interquartile,” meaning they are between the 25th and 75th percentiles):

• Annual salaries for compensation directors at small companies, $118,997 – $160,919; mid-level companies, $126,720 – $171,363; and large companies, $135,171 – $182,790.
• Annual salaries for learning and development directors at small companies, $134,546 – $167,270; mid-level companies, $143,262 – $178,106; and large companies, $154,178 – $191,677.
• Annual salaries for directors of talent management/organizational management at small companies, $112,469 – $155,792; mid-level companies, $119,953 – $166,158; and large companies, $127,425 – $176,509.
• Annual salaries for directors of talent acquisition at small companies, $107,056 – $148,293; mid-level companies, $114,184 – $158,167; and large companies, $121,306 – $168,033.

Randstad US' guide also includes national pay rates for a variety of positions within the engineering, finance and accounting, health care (clinical and non-clinical), technology, life sciences, manufacturing and logistics and office and administration fields.

For the first time since job data was collected by the U.S. government, last June there were 350,000 more open jobs than there were unemployed people — and that trend is continuing, according to the guide.

“That's great news for job seekers — but not so much for employers,” the authors write. “In fact, it means the competitive labor market we've experienced over the past few years is getting markedly tighter.”

Indeed, the number of people in December who voluntarily quit their job and immediately began looking for new employment was 839,000, a marked jump from 113,000 such job seekers in December 2017, according to the BLS. While the roughly 3 percent rise in nationwide salaries across all industry sectors was in line with recent BLS data from the past three years, the wage increase was not on pace with inflation. That's likely the reason why in December there was such a jump in the number of people quitting their jobs in search of higher-paying ones, Randstad speculates.

Paying less than one's competitors is no longer an option – but neither is paying the same, according to the guide.

“To secure the talent you need in order to stay competitive and drive your business forward, you've got to offer salaries that stand out among the competition,” the authors write.

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