Pay and prices
Delays cloud pay deal picture
Pay settlements appeared to improve in April, due largely to deals in the public sector and services.
However, the coronavirus crisis means some bargaining has been suspended. In April, the median pay increase in collectively agreed settlements from LRD’s Payline database rose to 2.7% — up from the 2.5% for March. The private sector stayed at 2.5%, but the public sector increase was 3.0%. Official figures for average weekly earnings in March for the regular pay (excluding bonuses) in the whole economy showed 2.4%, a continuation of a downward trend this year. However, the public sector witnessed a 3.5% increase.