The Wall Street Journal " Outlook " observes, " In the U.S. job market, the balance of power is shifting to employees from employers, " and states that " the retention frenzy was triggered in part by previous waves of corporate downsizing, " which left behind survivors who took stock of career options and used Internet job listings and intensified recruiting to land better offers, which in turn led to counter-offers and higher salaries. This has led, says the Journal, to annual compensation rising 5 - 6 percent a year.
The WSJ says in the US job market, the balance of power is shifting to employees.  He says that the retention frenzy was triggered by previous waves of corporate downsizing.  This left behind survivors and intensified recruiting to make better offers, which led to counter offers and higher salaries.  Compensation rises 5-6 % per year.