Although the economy is improving, the improvement is slow and uneven, making employers hesitant to provide wage increases as well as to hire additional staff.

So how do credit unions compare? CUNA's 2010-2011 "Complete Credit Union Staff Salary Survey" revealed a few key trends. About 43% of credit unions initiated a wage freeze in 2009 and plan to do so in 2010 as well. In addition, the average 2010 budgeted salary increase, as well as the anticipated 2011 salary increase, are lower for both management and nonmanagement employees, at about 2.2%. The percentage of credit unions planning to add both full-time and part-time employees in 2010 has remained stable since last year, although these figures are still lower than previous years. Approximately 20% of credit unions with $1 million or more in assets plan to add full-time and/or part-time employees this year.