Only 45% of Employers Share Pay Ranges in Job Postings. And It's a Major Problem

It's a system that hurts employers and job seekers alike.

In the course of applying for a new job, there are apt to be certain things you want and need to know. These might include the responsibilities the job entails, the hours, whether there's the option for remote work, and what the pay looks like.

The latter, however, may be information that's hard to come by. A recent Payscale survey found that only 45% of employers include pay ranges as part of their job listings. And 18% of those only do so when it's required by law.

But not including a pay range in job listings hurts workers and employers alike. And so hopefully, in time, more companies will get on board with the idea of pay transparency from the start.

The problem with not listing salary ranges

Some companies might keep salary details under wraps to give themselves more negotiating power. Others might keep that information hidden because their plan is to offer a salary based on experience and skill level.

But not including salary details on a job listing is generally not a good practice. And employers who do so might end up getting hurt themselves.

When a job listing doesn't include a salary range, what might happen is that a company gets plenty of quality applicants, only to have them drop out of the interview process once it's revealed that the salary at play doesn't match their expectations or needs. Plus, not including a salary range could limit a given company's pool of applicants to begin with.

A lack of pay transparency can hurt job seekers, too. A given candidate might go through several interview rounds only to realize weeks later that the wage being offered just doesn't work. The result? A lot of wasted time.

Think twice before applying to a job with no pay data whatsoever

If you're in the market for a new job, you may want to focus on listings that include a salary range -- and skip over those that don't. Let's say you find a job opening that seems like a great fit, only the top salary the company is willing to pay is $60,000. If you're currently earning $72,000, that probably won't work. A $12,000 pay cut might mean struggling to pay your mortgage or other bills. It's a risk you likely don't want to take.

But even if you're not looking at a pay cut, your goal in getting a new job may be to snag a nice pay boost so you can do things like pay off your credit cards and start saving for retirement. So if you're earning $72,000 a year now, it may not be worth it to switch to a new position that will only pay you $75,000. Rather, if you're making a change, you may want to set your sights on a job paying $80,000 or more.

Of course, in some cases, you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that a job without a salary range listed is willing to pay more than you would've expected. But do you really want to put yourself through several interviews just to find out that's not the case?

Ideally, in time, more companies will get on board with the idea of listing salary ranges in job postings. Until then, you may want to apply for jobs strategically and focus on those employers that are more transparent from the start.