Pressure on to bump wages in the U.S.

market recovery as corporate financial positions improve with demand. Attracting and keeping qualified employees was a top-five concern, according to the survey.

Sixty-three per cent of CFOs said their companies have recently increased or plan to raise wages, and 26 per cent said it was because they were having trouble luring or retaining skilled employees.

An improved outlook on business balance sheets and the economy may be the impetus firms need to raise wages.

The finance heads’ gauge of optimism about the U.S. economy rose to 64.7 in three months to March from 63.7 in December.

The group’s index of corporate sentiment climbed to 67.5 from 66.4.

WASHINGTON — Employers in the U.S. will probably have to offer bigger pay raises to hire and retain skilled workers as the labour market tightens, according to a quarterly survey of chief financial officers.

About 70 per cent of CFOs said they expect to boost worker pay by at least three per cent, Duke University/CFO Magazine’s global business outlook survey of 547 U.S. companies showed.

Wage pressures are greatest in technology, services and consulting, manufacturing and health care.

Bigger bumps in pay have been the missing ingredient in the U.S. labour