For the three months to the end of August, the level of settlements has fallen slightly to 2.3%, down from the figure for the previous three months of 2.4%. This is the lowest figure for nearly 12 months.
In addition, the number of pay freezes has increased to almost 18% of settlements, the highest figure for more than 12 months. Pay deferrals have also remained at a relatively high level of nearly 6%, the highest figure since January 2003.
Deputy Director of Employment Policy, David Yeandle, said:
"These figures show that, despite the gradually improving economic outlook, many manufacturing companies are still facing a difficult business environment which requires them to manage their controllable costs carefully."
|
Settlement level - per cent |
Number of settlements |
|
Zero (pay freeze) |
30 |
|
0.01-2.00 |
24 ( 21 settlements at 2 per cent exactly) |
|
2.01-3.00 |
84 ( 39 at 3 per cent exactly) |
|
3.01-4.00 |
26 ( 2 at 4 per cent exactly) |
|
4.01 or more |
5 |