According to Apple, its corporate and retail employees will be paid more later this year. Employees in the U.S. face increased inflation and cost of living amid a historically tight labor market.

Apple follows Google, Amazon, and Microsoft in increasing workers’ pay in recent times in order to retain and attract talent.

“Supporting and retaining the best team members in the world enables us to deliver the best, most innovative, products and services for our customers,” an Apple representative said in a statement. “This year as part of our annual performance review process, we’re increasing our overall compensation budget.”

Hourly wages will rise to $22, or higher depending on the market, a 45% increase over 2018.

The tech giant has seen incredible growth in the past two years. Apple generated record profits during the pandemic by selling iPhones, laptops and tablets to workers and students who were quarantined at home.

Facing a war for talent, tech companies have also seen stock awards hindered by a downturn in company valuations.

When the pandemic first broke out in early 2020, the company was one of the first to send workers home and has become a high-profile example of the challenges of returning employees to work as coronavirus strains flare up and employees demand greater flexibility to work remotely.

Apple’s move also comes at a time when employees in tech and other companies across the US are actively forming unions.

In April, workers at Apple‘s Atlanta store filed a petition to hold a union election, seeking to become the company’s first U.S. store to unionize amid a wave of labor activity at other major firms

“We work hard at Apple because we really believe in the products and the company and we want to make sure that every Apple worker is able to afford quality housing and basic living expenses,” Elli Daniels, an Apple worker who is part of the union effort, said in a statement as reported by Reuters.