* Salary survey results show salary increases for 2003 will be slight
Salaries are only expected to edge up a meager 3.5% in 2003, according to WorldatWork, an association of compensation and benefits professionals. This average increase is the lowest in the 30-year history of the organization’s Salary Budget Survey, and is short of last year’s projection of 4.1% for this year.
Based on more than 3,100 responses from WorldatWork members who are posted in the compensation and benefits departments, the survey represents a total of 15.8 million employees. Of those employees, just under 83% are likely to receive a pay raise this year, as compared to 85% in 2002 and 94% in 2001.
While a 3.5% raise may not seem significant to individual employees, overall this represents big money. “Even though salary increases are declining about half a percent this year from last, that still translates to hundreds of millions of dollars in our raises, because our members who answered this survey represent about 90% of Fortune 1000 companies, which have pretty huge payrolls,” says Anne Ruddy, executive director of WorldatWork.
Top performers also are likely to be rewarded through variable pay, such as cash bonuses and other incentives. The use of variable pay increased to 75% in 2003. The payouts ranged from 5.7% of base pay for hourly workers, 11.7% for management and 29.8% for executives. Stock options continue to be popular too, as this type of incentive is used by 70% of respondents
WorldatWork survey respondents project slightly better salary increases for 2004 – 3.7%. “Overall, forecasts for 2004 indicate that salary budget increases hit bottom in 2003 and a turnaround is forthcoming. Only time will tell,” Ruddy says.
For more information about WorldatWork, go to www.worldatwork.org
