Pay Increases Lowest in Thirty Years

Thursday July 31, 2003

Looking for a big salary increase this year? Several radio shows announced today that this year's salary budgets are the lowest on record in thirty years. To give you an idea about the range we are discussing, salary increases in the United States are projected at 3.5 percent, with Canada lower.

According to a study by WorldatWork, the world's leading not-for-profit professional association dedicated to knowledge leadership in compensation, benefits and total rewards, "Respondents reported an increase in the use of variable pay, which consists of cash bonuses and other incentives to reward performance. For the third consecutive year, the number of companies using variable pay increased to a record high of 75 percent in 2003.

"The amount of incentives actually paid was less than the amount budgeted, but represented an increase from a year ago. The amounts paid ranged from 5.7 percent of base pay for hourly workers, 11.7 percent for management and 29.8 percent for executives. The outlook for incentives to be paid next year looks the same."

Want more compensation ideas? See the WorldatWork study results.

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