Manufacturing pay settlements have continued to remain steady as companies fight to maintain their inout costs, according to the latest information from EEF, the manufacturers' organisation.
The average level of settlements recorded for the three months to the end of May 2006 was 2.7%, the same as the figure for the previous three month period to the end of April.
In addition, during this period, the number of companies reporting that they had frozen pay was just over 6%, slightly lower than the revised figure for the previous 3 month period. The number of companies reporting that they had deferred their pay settlement rose slightly to just over 3% of all settlements.
Commenting on these latest figures, David Yeandle, EEF Deputy Director of Employment Policy, said:-
"These latest figures show that there are no wage inflationary pressures coming from the manufacturing sector and that companies are continuing to control their wage costs. They also highlight that companies are only willing to offer moderate wage increases in the face of higher costs of energy, raw materials and other inputs in order to minimise the squeeze on their profit margins."
| Settlement level - per cent |
Number of settlements |
| Zero (pay freeze) |
24 |
| 0.01-2.00 |
38 (27 at 2 per cent exactly) |
| 2.01-3.00 |
234 (96 at 3 per cent exactly) |
| 3.01-4.00 |
68 (7 at 4 per cent exactly)
|
| 4.00 or more |
14 |
The June Pay Bulletin covers 378 settlements covering 63,936 employees. Of these, the average settlement level was 2.7% in both March and April 2006 and 2.8% in May 2006 although the figures for March and May were based on relatively small samples of settlements. These figures may be subject to revision to take into account settlements for this period that have not yet been received.