Star Metro - LHH Releases the 2027 Salary Guide with New Salary Trends Report for Insights into Compensation Strategy

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 10, 2026 / LHH, the integrated professional talent solutions provider and global business unit of the Adecco Group, today the LHH 2027 Salary Guide, offering a comprehensive look at salaries across industries, levels and company sizes, with data on emerging roles shaped by AI and digital transformation. This year's guide is also accompanied by the Salary Trends Report for a broader perspective on industry trends and the strategy behind them.

The salary insights campaign offers two complementary assets for both decision-makers seeking workforce trends and practitioners looking for detailed compensation benchmarks:

The LHH 2027 Salary Guide is our comprehensive compensation resource, featuring detailed salary data, job titles, role-specific benchmarks, and practice area overviews. The Salary Guide is the trusted source for organizations and talent seeking actionable pay and hiring insights across key industries and functions. Every salary is benchmarked against real-life placements made by LHH recruitment leaders across North America.

The LHH Salary Trends Report is a thought leadership piece that helps leaders look beyond the headlines, providing insights that support smarter talent decisions and a more resilient workforce strategy for the years ahead. The report includes an employee value proposition assessment and an AI compensation framework.

The guide was built in partnership with world-renowned labor market analytics organization Lightcast. Lightcast aggregates and analyzes employment data from thousands of sources to provide the most comprehensive view of the job market.

Key Facts

• A false sense of stability is masking real risk. Low attrition comes from employees not wanting to make waves, not because their underlying issues have disappeared. Issues such as stalled progression, weak manager support, and burnout can surface later as unexpected departures.
• AI is repricing skills faster than pay structures can adapt. A 56% wage premium now exists for AI skills, yet 55% of organizations offer no premium or equity for employees who build those skills.
• Pay remains an issue, alongside progression and capability. 46% of HR leaders say a compensation gap vs. market is their No. 1 reason for failing to attract quality candidates.
• Salary data is backed by real-world insights from recruitment leaders. Every salary benchmark in the 2027 Salary Guide is validated against actual placements made by LHH recruitment leaders across North America.

Why This Matters:

Compensation is only one piece of the workforce equation. For 2027, it takes a total rewards strategy connecting pay, skills development, career mobility and workforce planning to attract and retain top talent.

The 2027 Salary Guide includes insights into health coverage that reduces out-of-pocket costs, flexible PTO policies and transparent retirement options. It also highlights where organizations can invest in reskilling and internal mobility to encourage retention.

Pay is not the only driver of retention. Organizations must connect pay, skills development, and mobility in their talent attraction and retention strategy.

In a market that favors employers, metrics such as low attrition rates and high applicant volumes can create a false sense of stability. Beneath the surface, challenges related to employee morale, skills readiness, productivity, and organizational capability may be quietly undermining workforce performance and risking future growth.

The practical components of the 2027 LHH Salary Trends Report include the Employee Value Proposition Assessment and the AI Compensation Valuation Framework, along with a benchmarking tool to identify capability risk indicators.

The EVP Assessment allows employers to assess the strength of their employee value proposition on the EVP Maturity Scale and take action to improve it. The AI Compensation Valuation Framework offers specific guidance around three practical questions that shape each AI pay decision:

• When does AI capability justify a pay premium?
• When is it cheaper to build AI capacity than to buy it?
• How do we reward emerging skills without permanently increasing fixed pay?

Executive Quotes

Making sure top talent sticks around: "Organizations invest significant effort in attracting talent, but retention requires just as much focus," said Britta Kroupa, Group SVP, Recruitment Solutions. "Competitive compensation and benefits are an important part of a strong employee value proposition, but long-term retention is also shaped by company culture and opportunities for skill development, career mobility, and growth. Organizations that connect these elements are better positioned to attract - and retain - top talent."

Building versus buying skills: "Roles and pay structures haven't evolved quickly enough to address emerging in-demand skills," said Laura Schroeder, Head of Commercial Operations, North America. "Organizations pay a premium to hire AI talent from the market while asking existing employees to build those same skills, often without a clear way to recognize or reward that growth. As AI reshapes how work gets done, employers will need compensation strategies that keep pace with the skills they say they value."

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the purpose of the annual LHH Salary Guide?

A: The guide provides a comprehensive look at current workforce trends and compensation benchmarks across industries. It provides leaders with actionable benchmarks and insights to inform workforce planning and pay decisions across benefits, talent mobility, workplace flexibility and transforming job responsibilities.

Q: What is new about the 2027 LHH Salary Guide

A: This year's LHH Salary Guide is paired with the new LHH Salary Trends Report, a thought leadership piece that supports smarter talent decisions and a more resilient workforce strategy. The complementary pieces offer insight on workforce trends for decision-makers and detailed compensation benchmarks for practitioners.

Q: What is the data foundation for the LHH Salary Guide?
A: The guide was built in partnership with Lightcast, a world-renowned labor market analytics organization trusted by 67 of the Fortune 100 companies. Lightcast provides a comprehensive view of market pay by combining government wage data with real-time labor market intelligence.

Q. How do you ensure the guide reflects current market conditions and not just data model predictions?

A: We validate every salary benchmark against real-life placements made by LHH recruitment leaders across North America. Our teams know what candidates actually accept, what employers actually pay, and where the market is moving faster than historical data can capture. When a salary projection doesn't align with what our recruiters are seeing in active placements, we flag it and adjust.

Q. How does Lightcast build wage intelligence?

A: Lightcast uses Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data as its foundation and adds insights from millions of job postings to identify emerging compensation trends and premiums. Compensation includes base salary and other direct earnings, such as incentives, bonuses and tips.

Q. Is there a premium for candidates with AI skills?

A: The average wage premium is 56% for jobs requiring AI skills over comparable roles, up from 25% the previous year. Leaders need an internal framework to price the capability impact accordingly.

For More Information:

The Salary Guide Insights page features links to the 2027 Salary Guide, Salary Trends Report, Career Momentum Calculator and more: Salary Guide Insights

###

About LHH Recruitment Solutions North America

LHH Recruitment Solutions North America connects organizations with the professional talent they need to move their businesses forward and helps individuals take the next step in their careers. The business provides professional permanent recruitment, professional staffing and executive solutions across Accounting & Finance, Legal, Technology, Supply Chain, Engineering, Marketing, Human Resources and Executive Search.

LHH Recruitment Solutions is part of the Adecco Group, the world's leading talent and technology advisory company.

Organizations served: Enterprise, mid-market, and public sector organizations.

Website: lhh.com | Media contact: [email protected]

SOURCE: LHH

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

M.Johnson--SMC