Pay rises average 2.8%

The latest figures from the Labour Research Department’s Payline database of collective agreements show a median (midpoint) increase for the whole economy in the three months to April of 2.8% — up from the 2.6% for the three months to March. There was a wide range of increases by sector, ranging from 3% in manufacturing down to 1.7% in the public sector.

With inflation under the Retail Prices Index (RPI) falling to 2.9% for the year to April, the gap between pay increases and inflation has narrowed quite sharply.

The latest annual figures show a median by agreements of 2.5%, but when weighted by workers covered this drops to 1.5%, reflecting the continuing squeeze on public sector pay.

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