Manufacturing pay settlements remain at historic low

The latest pay data from the manufacturers' organisation EEF for the three months to the end of January shows that the average pay settlement has risen slightly to 0.8% from the revised figure of 0.5% for the previous three month period. This figure, which contains information about almost 250 settlements for January, is a significant indicator of future pay trends in industry as January is the main settlement month in the year. During this latest three month period, the number of manufacturers freezing pay fell quite sharply to just over a half from just over two thirds of all reported settlements and was the lowest level reported since March 2009. The number of companies deferring their pay settlement also fell to just over 20% of all reported settlements, the lowest level reported since September 2009. EEF head of employment policy David Yeandle (pictured) said: "Although the level of manufacturing pay settlements has risen slightly, it is still at an historically low level. Given these latest figures cover the key settlement month of January they show that there are no signs of wage inflationary pressures building up in the manufacturing sector."