The Wall Street Journal reported on 12/16/08 that employers have done a sudden about face in regard to projected pay raises for 2009. Many who as recently as October said they were barely modifying their salary budgets in 09, have now changed their tune bringing projected annual pay raises for some workers to a 30 year low.
Overall, workers are now projected to receive average annual merit increases of 3% in 09 according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates. When polled just 2 months ago, employers said they had already lowered their budgets to 3.6% from 3.8% in July.
Pay for some workers may go as low as 2.5%, a clear signal that companies are concerned about managing their fixed costs during such a challenging worldwide business climate.
