Pandemic Saw Pay Levels Fluctuate at S&P 500 Companies

Median pay changed by 5% or less at about a third of S&P 500 companies during the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported in an analysis of annual disclosures by these corporations. It rose by more than 5% at 184 companies, and fell by more than 5% at 125 others.

Nearly 140 companies in the S&P 500, including Netflix and CSX Corp., said their median worker was paid at least $100,000 last year. Four dozen, including Starbucks and Amazon.com, said their median worker made less than $30,000 during the same time period. 

At the upper end of the salary range, most of the best-paying companies have relatively few workers, the WSJ reported. Four of the 10 top-paying companies employed fewer than 4,000, including life sciences REIT Alexandria Real Estate Equities, which reported its median worker made more than $295,000 in 2020. The Pasadena, CA-based Alexandria employs 470. 

Nine of the 25 top-paid median employees are at tech companies or tech-driven media platforms, such as Netflix, Facebook and Twitter. Five are in the energy sector, and four–averaging more than $240,000—work for pharmaceutical or biotech companies.

The companies reporting the lowest median pay are generally giants catering to mass markets, according to the WSJ. Auto-parts maker Aptiv PLC, which employs 151,000 people in 44 countries and was previously called Delphi Technologies, paid $5,906. Aptiv said the employee is an hourly worker.

Just over a quarter of the 25 lowest-paying companies make or sell clothing or beauty supplies. A similar number make fast food, pizza or cigarettes. Two others are dollar-store chains. Disk-drive maker Western Digital Corp. is one of just three tech companies in the bottom 25. 

Many operate in industries that depend on armies of part-time, seasonal and temporary workers, who are included when identifying a company’s median worker. Under Armour Inc. said its median employee made $6,669 working between 20 and 30 hours a week in one of its stores from August to December. Gap Inc. said it paid its median employee, a part-time retail-sales associate in North Dakota, $7,037 last year.

During 2020, the WSJ reported, some of the biggest changes came at companies hard-hit by the coronavirus and its economic effects, and also at some companies that benefited.

With its core live-events business sharply curtailed last year, Live Nation Entertainment said it had employed fewer part-time and seasonal employees than normal, leaving full-time and permanent employees making up more of its workforce. That pushed the median higher, a company official told the WSJ. 

United Parcel Service, which hired more staff to handle a surge in packages, was among the companies with the biggest drops in median pay: to $44,254 from $74,395 in 2019. The package delivery giant said its employees are among the best-compensated in its industry and that 2020’s median worker, unlike his or her 2019 counterpart, was a part-timer ineligible for pension benefits.