JUST one in five employers are planning to give their staff above-inflation pay rises this year.
Workers are facing a fresh cost-of-living squeeze amid stalling wages and a weak labour market, a report found.
Only one in five employers are planning to give their staff above-inflation pay rises Credit: Alamy
Workers are facing a fresh cost-of-living squeeze Credit: Getty
Research by the Work Foundation think tank also pointed to employees already facing extra financial woe, as energy and fuel costs have been pushed up by the Middle East chaos.
It could push staff into a renewed period of real shrinking wages.
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The survey of 1,000 business leaders found few are planning to put up pay past the current 2.8 per cent rate of inflation.
Most businesses are providing some kind of support to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, including extending benefits options, but one in seven business leaders said they are not providing anything of the sort.
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Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said: “A sluggish economy and ongoing global instability risks further intensifying cost-of-living pressures that workers across the country are already feeling.
“Repeated periods of stagnant wage growth and sustained increases in the cost of essentials have left many households with little financial resilience to cope with any further economic shocks.
“Most employers are actively looking for ways to support their staff, but many are facing the pressures of rising costs, too.”
Mr Harrison added: “This underlines the importance of Andy Burnham’s recent promise to prioritise short-term cost-of-living relief, and for the Government to focus on delivering good growth in every postcode in the years ahead.”
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