Three-month pay figure edges up to 3.1%

The latest figures from the LRD PayLine database of collective agreements show a generally unchanged picture with the three-month median for all agreements rising slightly to 3.1% in February from the 3.0% recorded in each month of the pay round since August 2002.

There is little variation between manufacturing (at 3.0%) and services at 3.1%, or between manual agreements at 3.1% and non-manuals at 3.0%. However, private sector settlements at 3.0% are continuing to run behind the public sector at 3.6%. This gap has, in fact, narrowed with the private sector staying constant at 3.0% while the public sector has fallen from its peak of 4.0% last December.

Comparing the LRD figures with those from other pay analysts shows that Incomes Data Services have a median for the first quarter of 2003 of 3.0% (up from their 2.5% for last quarter 2002). Industrial Relations Services (IRS) have a three-month median to February of 2.9% for all agreements (unchanged from their January figure). IRS also reports a medians of 2.9% for the private sector as a whole and manufacturing, while services were slightly higher at 3.0%.