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As the coalition releases statistics claiming that net pay has risen in real terms over the past year, XpertHR has published "encouraging" data on the first pay awards of 2014. The first pay settlements in 2014 are worth a median 2.5%, an increase on the 2% median seen in the final months of 2013, and the highest level seen since March 2012. The UK inflation rate as measured by the consumer prices index fell to 2% in December 2013. Among the January 2014 pay awards recorded by XpertHR, manufacturing-and-production firms recorded a median 2.5% settlement, while the private-services sector sees awards at 2%. The range of settlements has increased compared with 2013 - which marked a fifth consecutive year of low pay awards - with the middle half of awards falling between 2% and 2.8%.