Survey Results Show Steady Rise In Budgets For Annual Salary Increases

Raleigh, NC -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/06/2011 --Bruce Clarke, president and CEO of CAI (http://www.capital.org), a human resource management firm that helps organizations maximize employee engagement while minimizing employer liability, has announced the release of the results from the 2011 Wage & Salary Survey. The comprehensive and in-depth survey of more than 485 unique organizations and more than 535 facilities throughout the state of North Carolina reflects consistent and steady increases in annual salary budgets across organizations. CAI’s annual Wage & Salary Survey is the most all-inclusive and wide-spread salary survey conducted of North Carolina employers.

According to the survey results, the majority of employers, or 80 percent, expects to raise employee pay in 2012 by an average of 3.0 percent. This percentage is compatible with the actual 2011 salary increases reported to be between 2.9 – 3.2 percent. Therefore, the survey results indicate that the majority of respondents are projecting a raise in salaries for their employees. However, there is still a portion of employers from the survey, 20 percent, who are not planning to provide wage or salary increases in 2012.

The results from the North Carolina survey were consistent with nationally reported data regarding salary and wage increases. According to the WorldatWork’s 2011-12 Preliminary Salary Budget Survey, actual 2011 salary increases were between 2.7 – 2.8 percent with projections for 2012 at 2.9 percent nationwide. Similarly, the Hay Group recently reported median pay increases of 3.0 percent for 2012.

Some key findings from the CAI survey for North Carolina include:

- 80 percent of employers expect to raise employee pay in 2012 by an average of 3.0 percent.

- 20 percent of employers do not plan to give any wage or salary increases in 2012.

- In 2011, salary increases were between 2.9 – 3.2 percent in North Carolina.

- In 2011, 25 percent of facilities reported a zero percent increase in salary.

Data results are relatively consistent with results from the 2010 survey. At that time, 76 to 78 percent of N.C. companies surveyed projected salary increases for 2011 ranging from 3.0 to 3.2 percent (excluding zero percent). Only 22 to 24 percent of facilities projected a zero percent salary increase for employees, down from nearly 50 percent of companies in 2009.

QUOTES:
“We are pleased to see the numbers for salary freezes are down dramatically from 2009,” said Molly Hegeman, CAI’s director of HR services. “While employers are still experiencing ups and downs, many are concerned about remaining competitive within the marketplace. Withholding salary increases for too long will inevitably lead to long-term problems in retention and attraction strategies.”

DETAILS:
- According to the survey results, organizations appear to be differentiating salary increases based on performance of their staff and employees. Managers understand the value in recognizing and rewarding their employees that demonstrate high performance. Therefore, most managers are more willing to assign higher salary increases if their employees are dedicated and demonstrate high performance behaviors.

- For more information on CAI survey data, contact CAI at (919) 878-9222 or visit http://www.capital.org.

About CAI
CAI is a trusted resource for HR, compliance and people development. With locations in Raleigh and Greensboro, CAI is a membership-driven organization that helps North Carolina employers maximize employee engagement and minimize employer liability through human resources and management advice, training, news, survey data, public policy advocacy and consulting services. For more information, please call (919) 878-9222 or visit http://www.capital.org.