LONDON (Reuters – British employers offer an average annual increase in pay of 2.8% for staff. That is far below the inflation rate, according to a survey released Monday.

According to the Chartered Management Institute, many companies were cautious about offering raises while other costs are rising and others feared consumers would lose interest.

Anthony Painter (CMI director of policy), stated that while we have not seen all the effects of Ukraine’s conflict yet, it is clear that there are rumblings ahead and pressure building across the board.

According to CMI data, pay settlements for the private sector were 3.2% compared to 2.4% for the public. These numbers are roughly comparable with similar studies.

Although higher pay increases would be beneficial in reducing the living costs of most British workers it is feared that the Bank of England could have to work harder to bring inflation under control.

Consumer price inflation reached 7.0% in March, a new 30-year record. Economists predict it could rise to the double digits this year.

According to the BoE survey, employers reported that pay settlements were almost 5% in this year’s fiscal year. This is far above the normal trend.

There have been no signs of an increase on this scale so far.

Pay data company XpertHR reported last month that the average award for the three months ending February was 3%. This is the highest since 2008.

According to the Chartered Institute of Pay and Development(CIPD), the average wage rise for all businesses in 2022 was 3 percent.

Official data last week showed that the annual average wage growth, excluding bonuses (which unlike data on pay settlements includes rises due to job promotions and moves), was 4.0% during the three months ending in February.

CMI surveyed only half the firms that were questioned between March 31-April 5 and found they had decided to increase pay. 48% of respondents said no or were unsure.

However, the XpertHR survey and CIPD surveys previously showed that less than 10% employers intend to freeze wages.