Pay settlements for key month remain constant at 2.3% says EEF
Pay settlements in engineering and manufacturing have remained at 2.3% for both the 3 months to January 2004 and for January 2004 alone according to the latest figures from EEF, the manufacturers' organisation. This figure is particularly significant as January is the month in which, historically, the largest number of settlements in engineering and manufacturing occur.
Over the same 3 month period, the number of pay freezes that were reported fell sharply from more than 1 in 5 of all settlements to around 1 in 7 of all settlements. In contrast, the number of companies that reported that they had deferred their pay settlement during this period rose slightly from just over 2.5% to nearly 4%.
Commenting on these latest figures, David Yeandle, EEF Deputy Director of Employment Policy, said:-
"This key set of data, which will influence pay settlements levels for the first half of 2004, demonstrates that engineering and manufacturing companies are continuing to manage their controllable costs carefully and that there are no wage inflationary pressures coming from this sector."
Settlement Level - per cent Number of Settlements
Zero (pay freeze) 43
0.01 - 2.00 42 (25 settlements at 2 per cent exactly)
2.01 - 3.00 182 (88 settlements at 3 per cent exactly)
3.01 - 4.00 28 (6 settlements at 4 per cent exactly)
4.01 or more 6
The February 2004 Pay Bulletin analyses 301 settlements in the 3 month period to the end of January 2004 affecting 34,778 employees. Of these, the average level of settlement was 2.2% in November 2003, 2.0% in December 2003 and 2.3% in January 2004 with the figures for both November and December 2003 based on relatively small samples. These figures may be liable for revision to take into account settlements for this period that have not yet been received.