Improvement in settlements


Collectively agreed settlements edged higher in November.


The latest figures from the LRD Payline database of agreements show that in the three months to November the midpoint (median) increase for all agreements was up to 2.5% from the 2.4% rise for October.


The private sector matched the overall median rise, but there was a 0.4 percentage points drop to a rise of just 1.0% in the public sector. 


Settlements for manual workers were running at 2.5%, while for non-manuals the rise was 2.1%.


The median rise for the whole economy recorded by pay analyst XpertHR continued at 2.0% for November, as it has done for most of 2015. 


The latest official statistics on Average Weekly Earnings show that in the year to October total pay, including bonuses, rose by 1.9% on annual basis against the 2.1% rise in the previous month.


Manufacturing sector earnings growth was up to 1.6% from 1.2%. However, there was shrinkage in services, with a rise of 1.7% against 2.1% in September.


For the private sector as a whole the annual increase in October was down to 2.1% from 2.3%.


In the public sector, including financial services, earnings growth was down to 1.3% from 1.5%, while excluding financial services the rise was 1.4% against 1.7%.


The monthly rises in regular pay, excluding bonuses, for October were: whole economy 1.7% (1.9% in September); private sector 1.8% (2.0%); public sector 1.3% (1.4%); services 1.4% (1.7%); and manufacturing 1.3% (1.5%).

www.lrd.org.uk/index.php?pagid=18

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/december-2015/dataset--earnings.html