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Early career workers’ real earnings dipped below levels seen at the start of the pandemic, and U.S. healthcare spending spiked 7.3% from the previous year.
Here’s a closer look at those numbers and some of the others making headlines in the HR world.
By the numbers
0.7%
How much lower early career workers’ 2026 real earnings fell below 2020 levels, Glassdoor found.
Fewer than 5%
The percentage of companies that have had “transformational” outcomes on key metrics thanks to artificial intelligence, per the results of a survey by ManpowerGroup and research firm Everest Group.
15%
The share of employers that said they covered GLP-1s for weight management, a SHRM survey showed.
21%
The percentage of U.S. workers who said their companies were reducing their workforce in the first quarter of 2026, a Gallup poll found.
$5.7 trillion
U.S. healthcare spending in 2025, up 7.3% year over year, according to government data.
