BLR’s 2012 Pay Budget Survey was conducted in June 2011. A total of 1637 organizations participated. (For a complete copy of the Pay Budget Survey, including regional data, go here.) Here are more findings:
Planned Increases by Company Size
Small employers (those with fewer than 100 employees) and medium (between 100–500 employees) are planning the same average merit increase of 2.1% for their exempt employees, while large employers (over 500 employees) are jumping from 2.2% reported for 2011 to 2.4% for 2012 (see Tables 3 and 4). Noteworthy is the medium-size employer, which consistently shows a small decrease across the board in the average of merit and general planned increases for 2012.
Table 3: Actual and Planned Merit Increases by Company Size
|
|
2011 Actual |
2012 Planned |
|||
|
Fewerthan100Employees |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
|
|
Exempt |
532 |
1.8% |
359 |
2.1% |
|
|
NonexemptOffice |
455 |
1.6% |
307 |
1.8% |
|
|
UnionPlant |
17 |
0.6% |
15 |
1.1% |
|
|
NonunionPlant |
141 |
1.3% |
92 |
1.5% |
|
|
100–500Employees |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
|
|
Exempt |
415 |
2.0% |
294 |
2.1% |
|
|
NonexemptOffice |
378 |
2.0% |
267 |
2.0% |
|
|
UnionPlant |
46 |
1.3% |
38 |
1.3% |
|
|
NonunionPlant |
180 |
1.9% |
121 |
1.9% |
|
|
Morethan500Employees |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
|
|
Exempt |
428 |
2.1% |
321 |
2.4% |
|
|
NonexemptOffice |
409 |
2.1% |
307 |
2.3% |
|
|
UnionPlant |
83 |
1.5% |
61 |
1.6% |
|
|
NonunionPlant |
207 |
2.0% |
153 |
2.3% |
|
Table 4: Actual and Planned General Increases by Company Size
|
|
2011 Actual |
2012 Planned |
||||
|
Fewerthan100Employees |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
||
|
Exempt |
473 |
1.3% |
325 |
1.4% |
||
|
NonexemptOffice |
407 |
1.4% |
278 |
1.4% |
||
|
UnionPlant |
19 |
1.5% |
15 |
1.2% |
||
|
NonunionPlant |
136 |
1.3% |
89 |
1.6% |
||
|
100–500Employees |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
||
|
Exempt |
337 |
1.2% |
246 |
1.2% |
||
|
NonexemptOffice |
302 |
1.2% |
217 |
1.1% |
||
|
UnionPlant |
45 |
2.0% |
35 |
2.1% |
||
|
NonunionPlant |
146 |
1.4% |
97 |
1.4% |
||
|
Morethan500Employees |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
Total |
Avg.Inc. |
||
|
Exempt |
311 |
1.2% |
240 |
1.3% |
||
|
NonexemptOffice |
299 |
1.2% |
226 |
1.2% |
||
|
UnionPlant |
75 |
1.6% |
54 |
1.6% |
||
|
NonunionPlant |
152 |
1.4% |
116 |
1.6% |
||
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Comparisons by Industry
Survey participants reported an average planned merit increase for exempt employees of 2.2%; it was 2.1% for 2011. Comparisons by industry have some surprising planned pay increases.
The Real Estate industry has planned a general increase from 0.9% in 2011 to 2.8% in 2012 for exempt employees. Likewise, there is a general increase from 0.7% in 2011 to 2.4% in 2012 for the nonexempt employees. Another eye catcher for Real Estate are the merit increases planned for the exempt employees; they jump from 1.6% to 2.6% while nonexempt went from 1.7% to 3.1%, meaning an overall significant increase for this industry.
Another surprise is the Recreation industry. Planned general increases went from 0.3% in 2011 to 1.6% in 2012 for both exempt and nonexempt. Subsequently, the merit increases for exempt employees reflect an increase as well for the Recreation industry, with exempt planned merit increases going from 1.4% in 2011 to 2.3% in 2012, and nonexempt planned merit increases going from 1.1% in 2011 to 2.3% in 2012 (see Tables 5 and 6).
Table 5: Merit and General Increases Planned for 2012 Exempt (by industry)
|
|
#Emp. |
Merit |
#Emp. |
General |
|
Accommodation |
9 |
2.7% |
8 |
1.4% |
|
Agriculture |
3 |
2.5% |
3 |
1.8% |
|
Construction |
31 |
2.1% |
28 |
1.8% |
|
Education |
56 |
1.1% |
52 |
1.0% |
|
Finance/Insurance |
97 |
3.0% |
67 |
1.5% |
|
Government |
64 |
0.6% |
65 |
0.7% |
|
Health |
144 |
2.1% |
135 |
1.5% |
|
Management |
15 |
3.4% |
13 |
1.8% |
|
Manufacturing |
161 |
2.4% |
136 |
1.4% |
|
OtherServices |
269 |
2.2% |
221 |
1.3% |
|
RealEstate |
11 |
2.6% |
8 |
2.8% |
|
Recreation |
6 |
2.3% |
5 |
1.6% |
|
Retail/Wholesale |
47 |
2.2% |
32 |
0.8% |
|
Transportation |
28 |
2.2% |
21 |
1.0% |
|
Utilities |
33 |
2.6% |
17 |
1.0% |
Table 6: Merit and General Increases Planned for 2012Nonexempt Office (by Industry)
|
|
#Emp. |
Merit |
#Emp. |
General |
|
Accommodation |
8 |
1.6% |
7 |
0.9% |
|
Agriculture |
2 |
4.0% |
2 |
3.0% |
|
Construction |
24 |
1.5% |
21 |
1.5% |
|
Education |
54 |
1.1% |
49 |
1.1% |
|
Finance/Insurance |
89 |
2.9% |
59 |
1.4% |
|
Government |
61 |
0.6% |
64 |
0.6% |
|
Health |
137 |
2.1% |
126 |
1.5% |
|
Management |
8 |
3.4% |
7 |
1.6% |
|
Manufacturing |
153 |
2.4% |
128 |
1.4% |
|
OtherServices |
233 |
1.9% |
185 |
1.3% |
|
RealEstate |
8 |
3.1% |
5 |
2.4% |
|
Recreation |
6 |
2.3% |
5 |
1.6% |
|
Retail/Wholesale |
44 |
2.2% |
30 |
0.9% |
|
Transportation |
24 |
1.9% |
17 |
1.3% |
|
Utilities |
30 |
2.6% |
16 |
0.9% |
(For a complete copy of the Pay Budget Survey, including regional data, go here.)
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