Pay settlements in manufacturing have risen slightly from the levels of the past few months to 2.8%.
This means they are back to the level at which they have been for most of 2005, according to the latest information from EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.
The average level of pay settlements for the three months to the end of October was 2.8%, the same as the figure for the three months to the end of September.
In addition, during the three months to the end of October, the number of pay freezes fell slightly to just over 7% of all reported settlements.
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However, the number of manufacturers reporting that had deferred their pay settlement rose to nearly 5.5% of all settlements and was the highest figure reported for 12 months.
David Yeandle, EEF deputy director of employment policy, said: “Despite this slight increase, we have seen an increasingly consistent pattern of settlements in manufacturing throughout the year which indicates that there are no fears of wage inflationary pressure in the sector.”
