Rochester Business Journal

A survey found more local employers plan to give raises in 2013, the Rochester Business Alliance Inc. announced Wednesday.

Some 88 percent of respondents to the RBA’s survey of pay trends said they are planning increases for some or all employees in 2013, up from 85 percent in 2012. Nine percent said they were projecting a wage freeze or pay reduction for some or all employees in the coming year.

“Employers understand the importance of providing pay increases, in part to help their workers’ incomes keep pace with rising costs, including health insurance premiums,” said Sandy Parker, president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance.  “They also want to offer pay that’s competitive in the market place, so they can attract and retain talented employees.”

Area employers surveyed say they are budgeting for a projected pay increase of 3 percent in 2013, down slightly from the projected 3.1 percent for 2012.  For those companies that actually gave increases between August 2011 and July 2012, the average was 3 percent.

Non-manufacturing industries project 2.9 percent increases; manufacturers are budgeting for 3.2 percent. For-profit organizations are budgeting for an average increase of 3.2 percent, compared with 2.6 percent for non-profit organizations, officials said. 

Some 156 firms, representing 82,400 employees, participated in at least one of the surveys, RBA officials said.

The survey was conducted by the RBA’s human resource services department for local employers to use as a benchmark for regional trends when budgeting wage and salary adjustments.

(c) 2012 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or email service@rbj.net.