HR Hub

Pay data: three months to March 2019

Various research organisations have published pay data for the three months to March 2019, the busiest time of year for pay setting.

  • XpertHR shows the median basic pay award in the three months to March at 2.5% (for the third consecutive rolling quarter). The interquartile range stands at 0.9 percentage points, between 2.1% (the lower quartile) and 3% (the upper quartile). One organisation in 15 implemented a pay freeze, while one in 20 made a payment of more than 4%. More than one-fifth (22.2%) of awards are at exactly 2.5%, making it the most popular choice. Over the 12 months to the end of March 2019, the median pay award in the private sector is 2.5%, compared with 2% in the public sector.
  • Data from the Labour Research Department show the median increase at 2.8%.
  • The Pay Bulletin from Make UK (formerly the Engineering Employers Federation) shows manufacturing pay deals averaging 2.5%.
  • Incomes Data Research says that higher private sector awards have pushed the median above 2.5%.