2002 Has Not Been Financially Kind to Top Executives

Princeton, NJ and Redmond, WA (September 23, 2002) -- The highest paid executives saw a 1.9 percent decrease in their total compensation in the second quarter of 2002, according to the most recent Executive Compensation Index released by the Economic Research Institute (ERI) and CareerJournal.com. This is in sharp contrast to the 15.7% increase in total compensation executives received two years ago. Since 2000, executive pay raises have fallen dramatically, with an average increase of just 2.1% last year, followed by a 1.5% increase in the first quarter of 2002, and a 1.9% decrease in the second quarter of 2002.

Princeton, NJ and Redmond, WA (PRWEB) September 27, 2002 -- The highest paid executives saw a 1.9 percent decrease in their total compensation in the second quarter of 2002, according to the most recent Executive Compensation Index released by the Economic Research Institute (ERI) and CareerJournal.com. This is in sharp contrast to the 15.7% increase in total compensation executives received two years ago.
Since 2000, executive pay raises have fallen dramatically, with an average increase of just 2.1% last year, followed by a 1.5% increase in the first quarter of 2002, and a 1.9% decrease in the second quarter of 2002. The highest paid exec for the most recent survey period was Steven Jobs, CEO, Apple Computer. He received no salary but was given a $43,511,534 bonus.
In spite of the decrease in total executive compensation in the most recent quarter, executives did not see their compensation fall as rapidly as company revenues, which fell 2.1% in the second quarter.
The Index, instituted in 1997, tracks the total cash compensation (salary + bonus) for the highest-paid executives at a cross section of 45 major U.S. businesses. It also examines whether or not executive compensation is increasing or decreasing faster than company annual revenues. This measurement can be used to determine the executives value to the stockholders. These findings are consistent with the negative employment outlook," explains Tony Lee, Editor in Chief of CareerJournal.com, The Wall Street Journals executive career site. The highest paid executives are not faring any better than middle or lower management." -
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Until the economy starts to improve, we dont foresee an increase in overall executive pay," says Dr. David Thomsen, Director, ERI Economic Research Institute. Rising company revenues and increases in executive compensation will be signs of an economic recovery."

    The Index results are compiled by ERI/CareerJournal.com each quarter and capture total cash compensation reported in the previous 12-month survey period. The index (1997 = 100) stood at 167.6 on January 1, 2002 compared to 166.8 for August 2, 2002.
   The entire Economic Research Institute (ERI)/CareerJournal.com Executive Cash Compensation Index and Report can be found on ERIs site at www.erieri.com.

About CareerJournal.com
The Wall Street Journals CareerJournal.com (www.CareerJournal.com) is the premier career site targeted to executives and professionals.

About ERI
ERI Economic Research Institute was founded in 1987 to provide research for private and public organizations in the form of published reports and software database products. ERIs research database software subscriptions are now widely used, with over 6,000 corporate and consulting subscribers (affecting over 20,000 organizations pay practices, including most of the largest U.S. companies). Subscribers include corporate compensation, relocation, human resources, and other professionals as well as independent consultants and counselors, and U.S. and Canadian public sector (including military, law enforcement, city/county, state/provincial, and federal government pay administrators). ERI also offers online learning through its Distance Learning Center, www.eridlc.com. ERIs industry-leading Executive Compensation Assessor product was used in the calculation of the above index.