- A signing bonus is a financial sweetener businesses offer prospective hires.
- In July, 5.2% of all job postings advertised a bonus, triple the level in July 2019 though down slightly from a December 2021 peak, according to an Indeed analysis.
- There are strategies workers can use to get or boost a signing bonus.
Luis Alvarez | Digitalvision | Getty Images
Employers are using signing bonuses at an elevated rate to attract talent — and there are ways workers can capitalize on the trend.
A signing bonus is a financial sweetener — often a lump sum of cash — that businesses offer prospective hires.
Offers vary widely by company and position, and they can be quite generous. For example, Walgreens is offering a $75,000 signing bonus to pharmacists in some areas to reduce staffing shortages, according to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal.
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In July, 5.2% of all job postings advertised a signing bonus, a slightly lesser share than the 5.5% peak in December but still about triple the level in July 2019, according to an analysis of internal data by career site Indeed.
That suggests employers are competing to fill open jobs at a time when workers are still "in the driver's seat," according to AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at Indeed.
"If employers could find workers a dime a dozen, I don't think they'd be using signing bonuses in this way," Konkel said.
