COMPETITIVE LABOR MARKET MEANS PAY RAISES, SURVEY SAYS

Workers in metro Denver and Boulder can expect average pay increases of 3.2 percent next year, slightly more than this year’s 3.1 percent raises and the biggest jump since 2008, according to an annual compensation survey from the Employers Council.

Wage hikes should outpace consumer inflation, which is forecast to run at 2.8 percent next year in the Denver area, according to the Colorado Legislative Council.

“With such a tight labor market, it would be hard for employers not to give a 3 percent pay increase and still attract new employees,” said Sue Wolf, director of surveys at the Employers Council.

Colorado employers statewide are forecasting average pay raises of 3.1 percent next year, matching this year’s increases and projections nationally.

The biggest pay increases statewide, 6.2 percent, are expected to come in retail and wholesale trade as employers try to keep up with a rising state minimum wage and tight labor conditions.

Finance and real estate firms are forecasting pay increases of 3.6 percent, with construction at 3.5 percent. Nonprofits are expected to provide the smallest increases at 2.3 percent, while government workers can expect to match projected inflation at 2.8 percent.

There were 456 employers who provided information on future wage increases, Wolf said.