Pay rises are lowest for 10 years

PAY awards have come to a standstill after plummeting to their lowest level in a decade, a study suggests.

Pay analysts XpertHR said headline pay settlements in recent months have dropped to zero.

Public sector pay rises were worth more than in private firms over the past year, with a median figure of 2.5 per cent, compared with 2.2 per cent in the private sector, said the report.

And workers in manufacturing and production firms and private sector services have seen “extensive” pay freezes.