Pay increases now running at 4 percent

Published: 10 January 2008

Pay deals appear to be getting more generous. Average pay rises in the private sector are now running at 4%, fuelled by higher inflation, a report by wage analysts has found. The figure is up from 3.4% last month, said Incomes Data Services (IDS). IDS said the jump had been triggered by Retail Price Inflation (RPI) rising to 4.3% in November from 4.2% in October. The RPI figure is used as the basis for many pay deals, despite it being higher than the government's preferred Consumer Price Index measure. The higher pay deals in the private sector may increase the pressure on the government to be more generous with pay rises in the public sector

BBC News