LONDON (Reuters) - Annual pay rises in Britain remained stuck at 2 percent in the three months to July and show little sign of picking up soon, a survey showed on Friday.
British wages have risen far more slowly in recent years than before the financial crisis, and a move back towards historical rates of increase is one of the main things the Bank of England is looking for before it starts to tighten policy.
The survey from XpertHR, a human resources services company, showed that half of all pay settlements were worth between 1.6 percent and 2.6 percent in the three months to July, with the median pay award at 2.0 percent.
While some employers addressed problems with recruitment and retention of staff through higher pay, the survey showed they were feeling little pressure to hike wages by more than the going rate.
"Employers are either unable to, or see no need to, increase wages by any more than 2 percent," said Sheila Attwood, pay and benefits editor at XpertHR.
She added that only just over a quarter of pay awards were higher than the same employees received a year ago.
The Bank of England expects British pay growth to pick up markedly as productivity recovers and the labour market continues to tighten.
However, the XpertHR report looks in line with other surveys of companies that suggest this year's improvement in wage growth may be at risk of petering out, according to a Reuters analysis.