UK employers plan to rein in pay rises in 2020 - XpertHR

British employers plan to scale back their pay rises for staff next year, an industry survey showed, suggesting overall earnings growth is likely to slow from its current 11-year high.

Human resources data company XpertHR said the 123 private-sector employers it surveyed expect to offer a median 2.1% annual pay settlement between now and the end of August 2020, compared with an average 2.5% over the past 12 months.

"While the strong labour market continues to put pressure on employers to raise wages, other costs and an uncertain outlook could well mean lower pay rises for employees," XpertHR analyst Sheila Attwood said.

Average wage growth - which usually exceeds pay settlements, due to the effect of promotions and job changes - rose to an 11-year high of 3.9% according to official figures for the three months to July, before slowing slightly in August. Unemployment is also close to its lowest since the mid-1970s at 3.9%, but there was an unexpectedly sharp fall in hiring in the three months to August, raising concerns that the slowdown in the rest of the economy is spreading to the job market.