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Workers in the private sector are set to receive average pay rises of 2.4% in 2021.

This bullish picture of predicted pay settlements appears in the Salary Budget Planning Report from Towers Watson. The number of employers expecting to freeze pay is also predicted to fall sharply.

The survey does however highlight wide variations between different sectors. Companies in the leisure and hospitality sectors are planning average wage increases of 1.4% in 2021, while construction, property and engineering firms intend to raise salaries by 1.8% and those in the automotive sector by 1.9%. At the other end of the spectrum, staff in insurance are set to get a rise of 2.9%, those working in the fintech and business and technical consulting sectors can expect a 2.8% increase, and those in retail a 2.9% increase.