????經(jīng)濟衰退正式結(jié)束了三年多后，美國職場終于重現(xiàn)加薪潮。

????雖然加薪幅度仍低于經(jīng)濟衰退前的水平，但很少再有雇主不加薪，只是送上一張感謝卡或一盒巧克力了事。非營利性人力資源組織WorldatWork的一項研究顯示，美國雇主們不再拖延和觀望，已經(jīng)開始加薪。

????WorldatWork的研究顯示，今年美國員工的平均加薪等待期為12.4-12.7個月，明年預(yù)計也差不多。這個數(shù)字比2010年大有改觀。2010年，美國雇主平均等待13.7個月才給不適用于加班費法規(guī)的美國領(lǐng)薪員工加薪。WorldatWork的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，經(jīng)濟衰退最嚴(yán)重時期，10%的雇主等了36個月（整整三年！）才開始上調(diào)員工薪資基準(zhǔn)（用于確定工資的薪級表），平均等待期也達(dá)到了28個月。

????加薪等待期可能已恢復(fù)正常，但這并不意味著加薪幅度大幅提升。大多數(shù)美國員工將獲得約3%的加薪，但表現(xiàn)出眾的人可能會獲得更大幅度的加薪——有些漲幅可達(dá)到鄰座一般同事的兩倍。作為參照，2012年美國通脹率為1.4%-3%。

????WorldatWork的薪酬業(yè)務(wù)高級負(fù)責(zé)人周凱瑞（音譯）表示，美國雇主目前對加薪的態(tài)度大多為“慢慢來，要慎重…… 再稍微等等。”他表示，由于全球經(jīng)濟發(fā)展存在大量的不確定性，歐洲麻煩纏身，中國和其他地區(qū)增長放緩，美國又面臨財政債務(wù)難題，短期內(nèi)預(yù)計加薪“將相當(dāng)溫和，相當(dāng)謹(jǐn)慎”。

????隨著凍結(jié)薪酬預(yù)算的公司減少，今年美國加薪幅度已小幅升至3%，高于2009年的2.2%，后者曾將創(chuàng)下39年來的低點。WorldatWork調(diào)查的2,150家美國雇主中，僅5%的雇主稱預(yù)計將保持薪酬水平不變，大大低于2009年的33%。

????有些公司繼續(xù)維持管理層薪資凍結(jié)政策。人力資源咨詢公司美世（Mercer）的一份研究報告顯示，8.2%的雇主計劃今年凍結(jié)高管工資。根據(jù)WorldatWork的數(shù)據(jù)，高級管理人員往往比普通員工要等更長的時間才能獲得加薪，平均等待期為13.1個月。

????那么，什么時候才會開始加薪呢？很多加入工會的員工會按勞動合同每滿一年獲得加薪，這不適用于他們。大多數(shù)美國員工可以期待在明年1月份或第一季度的某個時間獲得加薪。美世報酬業(yè)務(wù)合伙人吉妮·阿金斯稱，這是因為更多的公司正在轉(zhuǎn)向“人人都在同一時間獲得加薪”的模式。

????Finally, more than three years after the recession officially ended, salary raises are rolling in again.

????Though they are smaller than they were pre-recession, hardly any employers are handing staffers a thank-you note or a box of chocolates instead of a pay increase. Employers also are no longer dragging their feet and waiting extra weeks to deliver these raises, according to research by nonprofit HR association WorldatWork.

????This year, the average wait time between raises for U.S. workers has been 12.4 to 12.7 months and next year it is expected to be about the same, according to WorldatWork. This marks a major improvement from 2010, when employers waited an average 13.7 months to offer pay increases to their U.S. exempt salary workers. In the depths of the recession, 10% of employers held off for 36 months -- three years! -- before increasing their salary structures - pay scales that are the benchmarks for determining salaries -? and the average had inched up to 28 months, according to WorldatWork.

????The planned timing between raises may be back on track, but that does not mean gains will be generous. Most U.S. workers will earn a raise of around 3%, though some star performers can expect more -- in some cases twice the rate of gain as the average worker a few cubicles away.?To put this into perspective, the inflation rate in the U.S. in 2012 has ranged from 1.4% to 3%.

????In the United States, the attitude on raises is mostly, "Take it slow. Take it cautiously…. Let's hold back a little bit," says Kerry Chou, WorldatWork senior compensation practice leader. Amid all the global uncertainty, with problems in Europe, slower growth in China and elsewhere, and the U.S. fiscal debt woes, the short-term outlook for raises is "pretty modest, pretty cautious increases," he says.

????Raises have inched up from a 39-year low of 2.2% in 2009 to a 3% gain this year as fewer companies have frozen their compensation budgets. Only 5% of the 2,150 U.S. employers WorldatWork surveyed said they expect to keep all salary levels steady, down from 33% in 2009.

????Some companies have kept salary freezes limited to corner office occupants. A report by consulting firm Mercer found that 8.2% of employers planned to freeze company executives' salaries this year. Officers and executives also tend to wait a bit longer for raises than the rank and file, 13.1 months on average, according to WorldatWork.

????So, when will these raises roll in? While many union workers receive pay increases on the anniversary dates of their contract ratification, they are the exception to the rule. Most U.S. workers can expect their pay to be bumped up in January, or else sometime in the first quarter. That's because more companies are shifting toward an "everybody gets their increase at one time" model, says Jeanie Adkins, a partner in the reward practice at Mercer, a human resources consulting firm.