EEF's pay data for the 3 months to the end of April shows that the average level of pay settlements has fallen sharply to 1.0%, down from 1.6% for the previous 3 months to the end of March. This is the lowest figure reported since EEF's survey began in 1987.
The number of companies freezing pay increased from just over 40% to nearly two-thirds of all reported settlements in the same 3 month period, the highest level reported since EEF's survey began. In contrast, the number of companies reporting that they had deferred their pay settlement in this 3 month period fell to just over 10% of all reported settlements
Commenting on the latest figures, David Yeandle, EEF Head of Employment Policy, said:-
"This is yet further evidence of the severe impact that the economic downturn is having on manufacturers. This latest information is significant as it contains data for April, a key month for manufacturing settlements, and there are now signs that average settlements could fall further to less than 1% over the coming months.”
Settlement level - per cent
Number of settlements
Zero (pay freeze)
136
0.01-2.00
32 (16 at 2 per cent exactly)
2.01-3.00
34 (15 at 3 per cent exactly)
3.01-4.00
18 ( 4 at 4 per cent exactly)
4.01 or more
9
The May 2009 Pay Bulletin contains information on 229 settlements covering 55,462 employees. Of these, the average settlement was 1.8% in February 2009, 0.8% in March 2009 and 0.9% in April 2009 although the figures for both February and March 2009 are based on very small samples. These figures may be subject to revision to take into account settlements for this period that have not yet been received.
ENDS