As the job market heats up, the Navy is offering large bonuses for new sailors. Starting this month the Navy will offer a $25,000 signing bonus for any potential sailor who agrees to ship out to boot camp by the end of June.
“The unemployment is being driven down, and there's a competition to try and get talent in the front door, whether you're Walmart, UPS, Amazon, any number of other companies, as well as small businesses,” said Cmdr. David Yoon, Navy Talent Acquisition Group Southwest.
RELATED: Navy looks to drop more Littoral combat ships
The Navy continued to meet its recruiting goals even when the pandemic made face-to-face recruiting impossible. This year, as companies offer higher starting salaries and better benefits, the Navy is concerned that it cannot keep pace with what the private sector is offering. Several bonuses have sprung up. Naval aviation is offering up to $175,000 to retain some pilots.
“We all know the kind of downturn that the aviation industry took at the, you know, as COVID came to its zenith, and then basically the airlines are hiring,” Yoon said.
Inflation is also putting pressure on wages. The Biden Administration is already proposing a 4.6% pay raise for all troops, which would be the largest jump in 20 years. Some Democrats in Congress have said the boost should be even higher to keep pace with inflation.
The Navy is particularly sensitive to the cost of living, with so much of the fleet based in pricy areas such as San Diego.
“Especially with housing and gas prices. Obviously those have gone through the roof, gas specifically over the past couple of months. But housing, you know, for the past couple of years has had a huge negative impact,” he said.
Of course, money is only one of a number of factors that go into a person’s decision to join the Navy. The largest selling point is still a desire to serve, Yoon said.
