THE harsh economic climate facing the manufacturing sector has led to lower pay deals for workers, new figures have shown.
The average settlement for manufacturing workers fell to 2.5 per cent for the three months to the end of last month, compared with 2.7 per cent for the previous six-month period, according to the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF).
During the same period, the number of pay freezes reported by engineering and manufacturing companies rose to 11.5 per cent of reported settlements, and was the highest reported figure since the beginning of the year.
In contrast, the number of companies reporting that they had deferred their pay settlement fell to nearly 2.5 per cent - the lowest figure reported since June 2001.
Alan Hall, EEF regional director, said: "This lower level of pay settlements, combined with the highest level of pay freezes reported in 2004, confirms our view that there are no wage inflationary pressures coming from this sector of the economy."
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