Compensation
2027 Salary Increase Outlook: SCOPE 2026-27 Highlights
SCOPE is the salary increase survey built for private equity portfolio companies: PE-specific intelligence on salary increases and compensation priorities across nine countries and four employee levels. This year, 346 portfolio companies took part, up 21% on the prior year.
The projected average salary increase for the U.S. workforce in 2027 is 3.5%, broadly in line with 2026. But the median is only the starting point — where a company should land depends on its hiring plans, attrition and profitability.
In the highlights, we cover projections across eight countries, our guidance bands for U.S. base increases, and the compensation priorities companies are setting for 2027.