NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Only about a quarter of employed Americans expect to receive a holiday bonus (22%) and just 12% anticipate a pay raise this holiday season, according to a new Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) report.

A higher 2016 salary leads workers' holiday wish lists with 39% of the vote, followed by better health insurance (18%), a better work/life balance (16%), a new job (10%) and more vacation time (9%). Middle-income Americans are the most likely to want a higher paycheck.

Among those who expect a holiday bonus or raise, the most popular way these people plan to use the money is to increase savings (35%). Other responses were to pay down debt (22%), keep up with bills (19%) and buy holiday gifts (17%).

Who's most likely to receive extra cash from their employer this holiday season?

• Democrats (32%, versus 20% of Republicans)
• Northeasterners (35%, compared with 27% of Midwesterners, 22% of Southerners and 22% of Westerners)
• Men (29%, against 22% of women)

"Most American workers don't expect Santa to deliver a higher paycheck in their Christmas stocking, which is in keeping with the slow wage growth we've observed over the past several years," according to Bankrate.com analyst Mike Cetera. "Most employers have been feeling rather Scrooge-like ever since the Great Recession. It doesn't seem like that's going to change anytime soon."

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and can be seen in its entirety here:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/jobs-careers/money-pulse-1215.aspx

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, CreditCards.com, InsuranceQuotes.com and Caring.com, our flagship websites, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, Insweb.com, CreditCards.ca, and NetQuote.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of over 600 local markets, Bankrate generates rate tables in all 50 U.S. states. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 100 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, CNBC, and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

For more information:

Ted Rossman
Public Relations Director
ted.rossman@bankrate.com
(917) 368-8635

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To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/just-22-of-us-workers-expect-a-holiday-bonus-300192968.html

SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.