Exclusive industry salary survey: Job satisfaction remains high within home furnishings industry

HIGH POINT — Despite a more challenging marketplace for furniture manufacturers and retailers, those in the industry expressed greater overall job satisfaction this year while communicating a bit less pleasure with their compensation package.

In the fourth annual Strategic Insights Salary Survey, conducted exclusively among Furniture Today and Home Accents Today readership, more than half of the retailer respondents (51%) said they were very satisfied with their job, and another 28% were somewhat satisfied.

Among manufacturers, the combined very/somewhat satisfied level rivaled that of retailers at 79% but was split between the two options. By comparison, a 2024 Pew Research Center study found 50% of U.S. workers extremely or very satisfied, with another 38% somewhat satisfied.

More retailers were very satisfied with their compensation package (37%) vs. manufacturer/suppliers (21%), but again the numbers were similar when combined with those who were somewhat satisfied: 62% for retailers and 60% for manufacturers.

Health insurance remains the top benefit provided to retailers (77%) and manufacturers (84%). Also high on the list of perks are a 401(k) with an employer match or contribution (60% for both groups), year-end bonuses (55% retailers, 60% manufacturers) and life insurance (46%/60%).

Benefits such as paid sabbatical and on-site or reimbursed daycare are still rare, with just 4% of retailer respondents and 1% of manufacturers saying a sabbatical was available. The daycare option was cited by 3% of retailers and 1% of manufacturers.

This year’s survey provided a glimpse into the outcome from challenges being faced by the industry. Nearly half of manufacturer respondents noted their company took some type of action that impacted jobs and pay, with almost one-third citing layoffs and job cuts and nearly one-fourth mentioning hiring freezes or the decision not to fill open positions.

For retailers, the impact was not as harsh. Among the 29% who said their company took measures related to the workforce, 10% said workers were laid off, and 16% noted a hiring freeze. No wage increases or bonuses were decreed by 10% of retailers and 14% of manufacturers.

This corresponds with what is happening throughout the national workforce.

An October survey of 1,000 business leaders by Resume.org revealed that half of respondent companies said 50% or fewer workers would get a raise in 2025, and just 15% of companies were giving raises to all employees.

Salary plus a bonus or salary alone are the top two means by which both groups are paid, according to the Furniture Today/Home Accents Today Strategic Insights survey, accounting for 70% of retailer compensation and 76% for manufacturers.

Not having a wage increase policy continues to be an issue for the home furnishings industry. More than half (51%) of retailers acknowledged their company doesn’t have a process in place for assessing yearly pay increases. This number was lower for manufacturers (37%).

The leading means by which wage increases are determined are tied to achieving certain metrics or having an annual review. An annual cost-of-living increase was enacted by just 4% of retailers and 7% of manufacturers.

At 87%, merit increases are the most popular form of pay increases in the United States, according to Payscale’s 10th Annual Salary Budget Survey for 2025, while cost-of-living/inflation adjustment increases are adopted by just 26%.

An addition to this year’s survey were questions related to the growing use of AI in the workplace.

Among home furnishings manufacturers, 41% said their job involved using AI, and nearly all were either very (14%) or somewhat (79%) positive about its use. “I have found it helps me reduce tedious work and focus on more important aspects of my job,” said a digital marketing specialist. AI was also credited by one vice president for speeding up product development.

A little less than half of retailers (43%) use AI at work. Within the group employing it, 30% were very positive about it, and 55% were somewhat positive.

Asked why they found it useful, retailers responded that it aided productivity and saved time. AI “wrote our new employee manual in one day,” said one furniture store owner, noting process would have taken a week to do manually.

Methodology

Strategic Insights’ exclusive home furnishings industry salary survey was fielded in November 2025 and is based on responses from 176 respondents among Furniture Today and Home Accents Today readers, including furniture, bedding and home accents manufacturers/suppliers and retailers representing full-line, specialty and manufacturer-branded furniture stores; outdoor retailers; and bedding and home accents stores.

Rounding may cause some charts to total more or less than 100%. Because of the sample size, the findings contained in this report are qualitative in nature and should be considered descriptive rather than explanatory.