PAY deals have fallen to their lowest level on record, averaging 1.3 per cent, following a “collapse” in wage rises in private firms, research has revealed.

An analysis of 232 settlements in the three months to May revealed that increases for workers in the private sector averaged 0.9 per cent, down from one per cent for the previous quarter. Industrial Relations Services said the 1.3 per cent average across the economy was the lowest since the group started studying pay trends in 1971.

More than a third of settlements involved a pay freeze, while in three cases firms reduced the wages of their staff. In contrast to the picture in private companies, awards in the public sector remained “buoyant”, with pay rises averaging 2.5 per cent in the year to last month, unchanged from the previous year, the report said.

£140M LOSS: Currys and PC World owner DSG International yesterday reported annual losses of £140.4m as it warned markets were expected to remain tough in the year ahead. DSG’s losses in the year to May 2 were driven by one-off items – mainly turnaround costs and the lower value of European businesses – but were less than the £184.1m seen in the previous period. Pre-tax profits without the exceptional items showed a fall of 77 per cent to £50.5m, reflecting a nine per cent fall in like-for-like sales during a time of “significant change”

for the company.

CHEESE SHOP: Fodder, The Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s new store at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate, has signed up Thirsk cheesemaker Shepherds Purse as a supplier. Judy Bell set up Shepherds Purse as a kitchen table business and it has gone on to win a number of awards.

TV CAMPAIGN: Miller Homes has created its firsttelevision advertising campaign, and has chosen the North-East as its launch region. The adverts, which will air during the advertising breaks in Coronation Street, are called The Optimist, and promote the use of shared equity schemes. Since July last year, Miller Homes North- East shared-equity sales have accounted for 42.44 per cent of its business.