UK employees to get lowest pay rises in Europe in 2018 – ECA International

UK professionals expect to receive just 0.2% real terms salary increases in 2018, up to 15 times less than their European peers, according to the latest annual Salary Trends Report by ECA International. Only professionals in Hungary, Portugal and Ukraine are likely to be worse off in terms of pay rises than those in the UK.

Although there are early signs of growth in some major European economies, expected real salary increases still lag behind those of a few years ago. Real wage growth in Germany and France is expected to be less than half the rate of 2015 at 1.2% and 0.9% respectively.

Steven Kilfedder, production manager at ECA International, said:

‘Productivity growth in the UK has remained low in recent years so employers have not been able to offer the level of salary increases that they have been able to in the past. This, combined with higher inflation, which is expected to be 2.6% next year, has caused something of a pay crunch for UK workers.’