XpertHR Reports Record UK Wage Growth but Inflation Higher
2023.02.22 09:43
XpertHR Reports Record UK Wage Growth but Inflation Higher
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – According to industry data released on Wednesday, British employers offered the largest annual pay raises in 32 years during the three months leading up to the end of January. However, these raises are still a significant distance away from inflation of double digits.
The median basic pay settlement, according to the human resources data company XpertHR, increased to 6% from 5% in the final quarter of 2022, the highest level since September 1991.
The preliminary data for the time period that XpertHR released on February 3 were consistent with these survey results.
In January, British consumer price inflation fell slightly from a 41-year high of 11.1% in October. Reuters polled economists this month and found that they anticipate inflation to average 7.0% this year and 2.6% in 2024.
According to senior content manager Sheila Attwood of XpertHR, the January data was significant because it gave employers an idea of where wage agreements are going.
Attwood stated, “Of course, businesses will want to keep up with inflation and provide staff with all the financial support they can, but many simply cannot afford an increase of that magnitude.”
Teachers, nurses, and employees of public transportation are among the workers who have gone on strike in recent months in an effort to get better pay in light of rising costs.
She continued, “There is no denying that tensions between employers and their employees are high at the moment, with industrial action dominating the headlines across various sectors – and dispute over pay is a key factor.”
In the meantime, the Bank of England is concerned that rising wages might impede its efforts to bring inflation back below its target of 2%.
Despite indicating that inflation was on the decline, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey voiced concerns regarding wage setting.
Basic pay increased more quickly than anticipated in the final three months of 2022, according to official data released last week by the Office for National Statistics.
With the exception of distortions caused by furlough support during the COVID-19 pandemic, average weekly earnings were 6.7% higher than a year earlier, the fastest growth since records began in 2001. This figure does not include bonuses.
