Base pay salary increases for 2014 in the United States will remain at 3% for the second year in a row, according to a Buck Consultants survey.
That’s roughly one percentage point below pre-recession levels.
However, survey respondents provided larger base pay increases for employees with particular skills and for those in IT and medical professions.
Fewer respondents provided larger increases to workers in sales and engineering than was the case in Buck’s prior survey.
“Employers continue to be cautious with their salary budgets,” said David Van De Voort, a principal with Buck Consultants. “What’s more, performance ratings got tougher, and average promotional pay increases stagnated.”
Talent retention remains employers’ top HR priority.
Employers project no increased hiring activity for 2014 with a mere 19% of respondents anticipating adding workers next year, the same as in 2013.
According to the survey, recruitment and sourcing talent increased in importance and surpassed employee engagement as the second highest HR priority.
“The fact that employers are more concerned about hiring but not planning to increase hiring suggests that 2014 could be yet another anxious year for both employers, which are still hesitating to act on hiring, and the labour pool, anxious for improved employment prospects,” he adds.
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