Median pay rises in the UK remain at 4% for the three months ending in August, according to new figures from Incomes Data Research (IDR).
The IDR data showed that nearly a quarter (24%) of deals included wage increases of 5% or more, highlighting a 9% growth from last month.
Around half (51%) of deals included pay rises of between 4% and 4.99%, compared to 56% of awards in the three months to the end of July. These results have largely been due to deals struck in manufacturing and the public sector, said IDR.
Private sector median pay awards dropped to 4.1% from 4.4% in the previous analysis period due to a smaller number of deals worth at least 5%.
In the three months to August, around a fifth (21%) of wage increases were at this level – a decline from the quarter reported the previous month. This reduction is largely because of changes in the how pay outcomes are distributed in private services, IDR noted.
The manufacturing industry reported one in five deals remained at 5% or more, the same proportion as those in July. However, awards of between 3.0% and 3.99% have risen by 5%, from 19% in July to nearly a quarter (24%) in the latest analysis, bringing the sector’s median down from 4.3% to 4%.
In the three months to August, the public sector experienced deals worth slightly more than those in the private sector, with a median rise of 4.5%.
IDR senior researcher Zoe Woolacott said: “The differing outcomes in the private and public sectors reflect the cycle of pay between the two, with the public sector currently in the ‘catching-up’ phase, after a lengthy period in which pay awards lagged behind those in the private sector.”
The figures, which cover more than 740,000 employees at mostly large organisations, are based on 39 pay deals effective between 1 June and 31 August.
Although a quieter time for pay deals than earlier in the year, IDR found that awards still remain above inflation despite the median trending down. But deals are also likely drop if inflation falls further, it warned.
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