Pay outlook looks rosy for top performers
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, February 17, 2007
NEW YORK – The pay outlook for 2007 calls for modest raises, with a chance of stellar bonuses for the best performing employees.
Executive, management, professional and office workers will get average raises of 3.7 percent, and workers in trades, production and service can expect raises of 3.6 percent, according to a survey of 227 large and mid-sized employers by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
The big bucks will go to top performers. The top 12.8 percent of workers will get average pay increases of 5.4 percent; the next highest 26.1 percent will get average raises of 4.4 percent and the middle-rated 52.9 percent will get raises of 3.3 percent. The lowest rated 2.9 percent will average pay increases of 1.4 percent.
About three-quarters of employers surveyed expect bonus payments for 2007 – based on 2006 performance – to be equal to or more than those paid in the previous year.
The job group with the most potential for rewards is information technology, where 69 percent of employers say they offer signing bonuses, 63 percent say they offer more aggressive pay increases, 85 percent offer project milestone awards and 84 percent offer spot cash awards.
