Manufacturing pay settlements ease upwards
Pay settlements in manufacturing have risen slightly according to the latest figures reported by EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, but there is no evidence that wage inflationary pressures are building up in the sector.
The latest figures for the three months to the end of August 2008 show that the average level of pay settlements was 3.3%, slightly higher that the figure of 3.1% reported for the three months to the end of July. This was also the highest figure that had been reported since October 2007.
In this period, the number of companies reporting that they had deferred their pay settlement was nearly 9% of all settlements, the same figure that had been reported for the previous three month period. However, the number of companies reporting pay freezes fell quite sharply to 3.6% of all settlements, the lowest level reported since October 2007.
EEF Head of Employment Policy David Yeandle said although manufacturing pay settlements were rising slightly, they were still at a relatively low level in historical terms.
