American workers may get a larger raise in 2012

Americans may have a little more green come next year. Image: Www.CourtneyCarmody.com/Flickr/CC BY-SA

U.S. employees may be able look forward to a little more compensation next year. A recent survey shows that U.S. employers are likely to offer moderate pay raises in 2012. While the economy is still struggling, profits are up from last year and employers generally recognize the need to reward productive employees.

773 companies surveyed

The survey was conducted by global professional services company Towers Watson in June and July of 2011. It polled 773 companies from a cross section of industries. The survey found that many companies are planning on giving an average increase of 2.8 percent to their workers. That is up slightly from the 2.6 percent raises they got in 2010 and  2011. And it is way up from 2009′s 1.6 percent hike.

Frozen salaries thaw

The survey also showed that salary freezes are down to about only 5 percent of employers. That figure was 12 percent in 2010 and 36 percent in 2009 at the height of the recession.

Laura Sejen, global rewards practice leader at Towers Watson, said:

“As the economy continues to emerge from the recession, the compensation environment for most companies is looking much better. Companies are steadily restoring frozen pay increases and are now in an improved position financially to reward their workers with higher raises and bonuses.”

Raises to be performance-based

Sejen also said that raises will, for the most part, be based on performance. Employers, she said, “recognize the need to reward their top performers or risk losing them to competitors.”

Employees who receive top performance evaluations, according to the survey, will see increases of as much as 4.5 percent. The average worker will get roughly 2.5 percent, and those whose performances are below average will receive an average of 1.6 percent more.

Raise projections in other countries

Pay raise projections abroad show that the U.S. lies somewhere in the middle. Employees in the Asian country of Kazakhstan will receive an average 9.1 percent increase this year. At the bottom of the scale, workers in economically depressed Ireland and Spain will get a median 1.6 percent increase.

Sources

Towers Watson
Life Inc.
Orange County Register

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