Changing the country of residence is inextricably linked with the search for a new job and the stress of realizing the proximity of future changes. Due to geographical remoteness, moving to America does not add peace of mind. However, regardless of the level of qualifications and education, each candidate is primarily interested in the average salary in the United States. In addition, the future taxpayer will need information about income taxation systems, as well as about the nuances of labor legislation.
US employment
The United States boasts not only a strong economy, but also good employment figures in the country. In March 2021, the percentage of the working-age population unsuccessfully seeking to get a new job dropped to 3.8%.
The employment structure is heterogeneous and differs based on education level, age and gender. Thus, unemployment among unskilled personnel (secondary education and below) is 6.9%. And for holders of bachelor's degrees and higher, there is almost always a job in the United States, among them only 2% are unemployed.
Gender division in work collectives is also present. As of March 2021, among residents of the country over 20 years old:
- men are involved by 68.9%;
- and only 56.9% of women are active in the labor force.
Compared to these indicators, the level of youth unemployment is much more frustrating, since among the population under 25, almost 8.9% are unemployed, even if they are actively looking for it.
Rights of workers in America
According to The World Bank, in the Ease of Doing Business Index, the United States has not fallen below 8th place over the past 10 years. This is also facilitated by the fact that the legislation does not strive for high business regulation.
However, in the field of labor relations at the federal level, several norms have been adopted to eliminate inequality at the negotiation stage when concluding an employment contract.
In particular, Chapter 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations regulates:
- the minimum wage in the United States (state authorities have no right to reduce guarantees);
- normal duration of the working week, methods and amount of additional payments for extracurricular work;
- ensuring safety in the performance of work functions;
- obligatory exclusion of the facts of discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, sex or nationality.
The law stipulates the obligation of the employer to inform employees about the minimum minimum requirements. For this, posters recommended by the US Department of Labor should be posted in prominent places.
At the same time, the working people in America do not have the guaranteed right that Russians are used to:
- on paid leave and sick leave with the preservation of earnings;
- maternity leave. Legislators only recommend providing 12 weeks of unpaid respite for women in labor (during this period, the woman retains a place, but not financial support) - The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993;
- protection against illegal dismissal. Most states have not passed such laws even at the regional level, and Employment At-Will contracts, providing for termination at any time, are found at every turn;
- for old-age pensions (except for the mandatory 6.2%, savings for future pension at the expense of the enterprise are transferred only in accordance with the local regulations of the company).
Most of the provisions and norms are enshrined in individual contracts with the employer: duration and payment of rest, guarantees for pregnant women, work schedule, meals, duration of intra-shift breaks, etc.
Depending on the company's policy, the list of social guarantees may include paid vacation, maternity leave, pension contributions, and additional health insurance contributions.
For foreign citizens, there is work in America, provided that the person arrived in the country legally and received a work permit. At the same time, only those who have a temporary work or student visa, apply for refugee status, have a green card, or intend to marry an American are eligible for employment.
Russians and Ukrainians who have come overseas on a tourist visa need to know that they will not be able to get an official job on it.
Payroll rules
Unlike in Russia, in the United States, the standard period for calculating and paying salaries is a week. In accordance with the legal definition, a seven-day work week does not have to start on Monday morning. For unambiguous interpretation of the data, a week is defined as a continuous segment of 168 hours over 7 days, starting from any day and hour.
Within this period, all hours worked are counted as basic (40 hours) and are paid at a rate not lower than the minimum (unless the employee is excluded from the federal fair labor standards act).
All hours worked in excess of the prescribed forty must be paid as overtime - with a surcharge of at least 50% of the contractual rate. In the United States, it is not possible to keep a cumulative record of working hours, so the law prohibits the attribution of overtime or past shortcomings.
The employer has the opportunity to save on additional payments if the company has specialists who are not provided with additional money for the excessive duration of their stay at the workplace. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires overtime not to receive:
- employees who do not fall under the protection of the regulation;
- employees of trade and service establishments selling vehicles, agricultural equipment and spare parts for them;
- transport and delivery workers with fixed prices for services;
- media workers registered outside the capital;
- farmers;
- domestic staff living in the same living space with the tenant;
- employees who have not received a high school diploma and continue their studies during working hours.
Firefighters and law enforcement officers practically do not receive additional payments, since it is precisely for them that the opportunity has been established to summarize the hours worked for 28 days. In this regard, the accrued salary of an American police officer per month can remain at the average level, even if he worked for several days for several days a week.
Minimum US Pay
Federal law fixes the total minimum hourly wage across the country at $ 7.25. The last time America's minimum wage per hour was revised in 2009 was the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). However, not all employers and not all categories of employees are covered by this act.
So, under the protection of FLSA are the personnel of organizations:
- whose annual turnover exceeds $ 500,000;
- falling under the Act before March 31, 1990 (before the eligibility criteria changed);
- conducting interstate trade or involved in the process of creating goods for it;
- related to the service of hospitals and their patients, schools, universities and kindergartens;
- related to the public sector.
At the same time, the following were removed from the law:
- executive and administrative professionals approved by the Department of Labor, including administrative workers, teaching staff and teachers and other high-paying professions in the United States;
- seasonal workers, recreational workers, seafarers on foreign ships and fishing personnel, small newspaper workers and press delivery workers;
- the personnel of an agricultural producer using hired labor no longer than 500 man-days per year;
- domestic staff with irregular employment, for example, nannies (if the salary of such an employee exceeds $ 1,900 / year or a person works all 8 hours a day for several employers, then he / she falls under the protection of the FLSA);
- remote workers, as well as those who live on the territory or at the expense of the enterprise, receive food or other benefits;
- people with partial disability (disabled);
- students.
According to FLSA regulations, the minimum wage is not the same for all workers. The rate gradation is shown in the following table.
| Employee category | Minimum payment, USD / hour |
|---|---|
| General rate for workers who work 40 hours per week | 7.25 |
| Team members regularly tipped over $ 30 per month | 2.13 (provided that the monthly salary is not lower than the minimum) |
| Employees under 20 years of age (during the first 90 days of employment) | 4.25 |
The legislatures of each state are empowered to set their minimum. For example, in Miami an hour will pay $ 8.46, in Los Angeles - $ 11, and in New York City, large employers from the beginning of 2021 have to pay their staff $ 15 for 60 minutes of work.
States where their own limit has not been approved must adhere to federal regulations (at least $ 7.25 / hour). For ease of reference, the Department of Labor provides an interactive map that indicates the minimum wage by state in the United States.
Average income of workers in America
The total average hourly salary in the country in March 2021 reached $ 23.24.Since it is customary in the United States to accrue income weekly, the average monthly salary is presented as payment for 160 hours worked - $ 3,718.40 per month.
According to the final statistics for 2021, the monthly income of highly skilled workers was $ 4,520, showing an increase compared to $ 4,330 / month in 2021. Unskilled labor is paid more modestly: on average, $ 1,960 / month in 2021 versus $ 1,760 / month in 2021.
Average hourly wages by industry
Hourly wages by industry differ slightly from the aggregate figure.
| Industry | Dollars / hour |
|---|---|
| Mining | 33.06 |
| Construction | 30.45 |
| Production of durable and non-durable products | 27.43 |
| Wholesale | 31.26 |
| Retail | 19.4 |
| Transport and storage of valuables | 24.67 |
| Utilities | 41.74 |
| Information sphere | 41.71 |
| Financial activities | 35.54 |
| Education and healthcare | 27.45 |
| Temporary accommodation of nonresident and organization of leisure | 16.39 |
Salary ranking by profession
It just so happened that the salary of a doctor in the United States is perceived by migrants as an unattainable dream. Even if in his home country a person was rightfully considered a good specialist, upon arrival in America everything must be started anew, because without a confirmed diploma and knowledge of the language, a doctor's license will simply not be issued. In other industries, the problems may be the same.
The table below shows the average indicators for young specialists in various professions (with 2-3 years of experience).
| Profession | Range of values (minimum-maximum per month) | Average salary, dollars / month |
|---|---|---|
| General practitioner | 8 885-10 740 | 9741 |
| Hospital nurse | 4 054-4 983 | 4505 |
| Lawyer, lawyer in the company | 5 233-6 432 | 5869 |
| Interpreter | 4 054-4 901 | 4477 |
| Architect | 4 439-5 416 | 4951 |
| Builder | 2 304-3 386 | 2838 |
| IT specialist, programmer | 5 026-6 211 | 5662 |
| Sailor | 2 259-3 337 | 2845 |
| Police officer | 2 862-4 441 | 3599 |
| Fireman | 2 459-3 616 | 3002 |
| Accountant | 3 576-4 448 | 3991 |
| Truck driver, truck driver | 2 339-3 629 | 2939 |
| Taxi driver | 2 231-3 279 | 2730 |
| Bartender | 2541-3 943 | 3196 |
| Handyman (in construction, factory, mining enterprise) | 2 148-3 157 | 2627 |
To get a rough idea of what salaries in the United States by specialty can offer more experienced workers, you can use the Paywizard.org service.
Using the example of the same doctors, one can see that a specialist with 10 years of experience will already receive $ 11,561 / month on average, and an anesthesiologist with the same work experience - $ 12,429 / month.
Alternatively, it is much easier for a foreigner to find a good place if they went to a new country with the category of a high-class truck driver. The average wage of a driver in America, if he has proven high qualifications and received a work permit, can reach $ 4,500 / month.
Examples of inequality in a country of equal opportunities
The US Code of Federal Equal Employment Opportunities and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibit any form of discrimination based on:
- floor;
- religion;
- nationality.
Each state has the right to add new categories to the list, for example, based on sexual orientation or political opinion. However, in practice, inequality still persists:
- women in America earn 25% less than men. Every year on April 8, the country even celebrates Equal Wages Day, marking the fact that ladies will earn men's annual wages in only 15 months and 8 days;
- in some industries, graduates of ordinary universities receive less than those who received a diploma from a prestigious college or university - the difference can reach 20%;
- the incomes of Hispanics and African Americans are lower by almost a third.
This is not to say that this situation is an iron rule for all areas of life. For example, the salary of an engineer in the United States does not depend on the prestige of his diploma, since all universities study the same set of technical disciplines.
There are opposite situations with regard to national differences. Statistics show that Asians earn even more than workers of the European race, by almost 12%, and this trend persists among both men and women.
Dependence of income on residence
Average statistical data reflect the situation in the country as a whole, however, economic prosperity is spread unevenly throughout the United States. The states of the Pacific coast can be considered the most prosperous geographically. The next in terms of income are the federal subjects on the Atlantic coast. The central states play a closing role.
If you do not focus only on megacities like New York, but analyze the indicators on average for each state, then the highest incomes are declared by residents of Alaska. Arizona, Washington, California, the District of Columbia and Massachusetts are also ranked among the wealthy.
At the other end of the wage earning scale are Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Payroll tax deductions
At the initiative of President Trump, in December 2021, a new tax reform was finally approved (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, TCJA, Public Law No: 115-97 (12/22/2017), workers will pay to the federal budget.
In particular, the interest deductions for personal income tax (Federal Income Tax) were changed downward and tax deductions were increased. The size of payments in each state is approved at the level of the local legislature.
| Retention name | Legislative level | Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Income Tax | Federal | Seven levels of progressive tax already from the reporting year 2019 (per payer): up to 9,700 dollars / year - 10%; up to $ 39,475 / year - 12%; up to $ 84,200 / year - 22%; up to 160,725 USD / year - 24%; up to $ 204,100 / year - 32%; up to $ 510,300 / year - 35%; anything over $ 510,300 / year - 37%. |
| State Income Tax | State level | 0-13.3% (progressive scale and fixed rates for each subject are presented here) |
| Social Security Tax - for the payment of various benefits | Federal payment | 6.2% deduction from an employee + 6.2% additional payment from an employer = 12.4%. This rate is not the maximum, additional contributions can be guaranteed by the company itself or transferred on its own behalf by the working |
| Health insurance premiums (Medicare Tax) | Federal payment | 1.45% from the employee + 1.45% from the employer = 2.9% (the maximum threshold for accrual in 2019 is $ 132,900 per year). |
Additional local personal income tax is not charged everywhere.For example, in Wyoming, Washington, Texas, South Dakota, Nevada, Florida, and Alaska, workers are exempt from state deductions, and eight regions have a flat rate. But the highest deductions for 2021 will be paid by residents of California.
Professionals employed by one employer can count on the company itself to transfer income tax and social contributions for them. However, from 2021, tax changes entered into force, affecting not only the size of rates, but also the principles of calculating deductions.
To understand how much the reform of President Trump has affected everyone, you can resort to the professional help of an accountant, or you can get a general idea using the calculator of the new tax system.
There are also a number of free services that help determine the amount of tax liabilities, deductions, and file reports:
- all income recipients in the United States can use the Turbotax service or online calculators for filing returns for various situations (for entrepreneurs, families with dependents, freelancers and students);
- you can estimate the potential amount of the tax refund using TaxCaster;
- A calculator for calculating federal income tax and deductions is also presented on the official website of the IRS.
Subsistence minimum and composition of typical expenses
According to information collected at the end of 2021, income and expenses in the United States for different categories of consumers look something like this.
| Cost type | Average family of 4 people, USD / month | Self-living adult, USD / month |
|---|---|---|
| Nutrition | 535-860 | 135-220 |
| Accommodation | 950-1 420 | 595-855 |
| Transport | 120-170 | 60-86 |
| Medical and health costs | 160-250 | 40-63 |
| Education and upbringing of children | 50-100 | 0 |
| other expenses | 91-140 | 42-61 |
According to the website Wageindicator, the “net” living wage for a family (two parents + two children) for 2021 is $ 1,191-1,838 / month.
Since in America the salary is indicated without calculating and withholding taxes, the gross indicator of sufficient monthly income should be in the range of 1,540-2,370 dollars / month. In 2021, it was enough for a lonely resident of the United States to earn $ 1,130-1,660 per month.
The information is collected through online surveys and takes into account the average US prices for services, meals and accommodation.
Comparison of the principles of labor and tax law of the United States and Russia
All those who consider the Russian system of calculating tax liabilities and the formation of deduction from wages difficult will face an unpleasant surprise when finding a job in the United States. This is because in Russia there are uniform federal rules regarding the taxation of income of legal entities and the provision of a deduction for personal income tax. The authority of regional legislators was given the right to supplement the list of all-Russian benefits and fiscal deductions.
The tax system and principles of formation of earnings in the United States in this sense are much more complicated:
- independent types of taxes and fees can be established not only at the federal, but also at the local and municipal levels;
- in America, a culture of personal insurance is well developed (for medical care, against unemployment and an accident at the enterprise), which will not take root in the Russian Federation;
- there is also an analogue of the minimum wage in the United States, but its essence is to establish a minimum hourly wage for certain categories of employees;
- not only compulsory contributions for medical insurance can be withheld from salaries, but also under voluntarily concluded contracts, therefore, the amount of "net" earnings for two equal specialists will not be the same.
Immigrants from the former USSR will not be pleased with the rules for building relations between an employer and hired persons. The degree of legal protection of an employee in the Russian Federation is several times higher than in capitalist America.
It is also unusual for the Russian perception that traditionally low-paid professions in Russia turn out to be quite profitable overseas. Domestic state employees are very surprised when they learn that the salaries of teachers in the United States exceed the average level. For example, a primary school teacher with 25 years' experience is about $ 6,000 / month.
Conclusion
America is usually called a country of great opportunities. However, this does not mean that every immigrant has a bright and cloudless future. It is irrational to make plans to move based on data from the series.
Even if a migrant has reliable information about how much they earn in New York, this does not mean that all these places are vacant. Only people with education (confirmed by a foreign diploma) and knowledge of the language can count on getting a good job with a decent pay.
However, a significant proportion of promising jobs in the commercial and government sectors are suitable exclusively for US citizens.
