A study by Hewitt Associates reports that professionals in engineering will see bigger boosts in their paycheck than people in other industries.
A recent report by Hewitt Associates —a Lincolnshire, Ill.-based human-resources consulting firm—states that U.S. pay raises in 2009 will be at the lowest level in more than 30 years. However, engineers might be better off than professionals in other fields.
According to the study, salaried workers will receive an average salary increase of 2.5% in 2009, down from 3.8% as projected back in July. While the report predicts people in the automotive and banking industries will have the lowest projected increases (1.4% and 1.3%, respectively), employees in the engineering and construction fields will have the highest—4.5%.
“Engineering is an extremely hot industry and thus that is reflected in the pay increase rates,” said MacKenzie Lucas, public relations specialist for Hewitt. “Additionally, to some extent, these industries are benefiting from long-term contracts
However, as the economy continues through rough territory, those numbers could shift further. Hewitt’s report also found that the recent economic situation and/or cost pressures have prompted 50% of respondents to make significant changes to their base salary spending in 2009, and another 25% indicated that they are still considering such changes.
Hewitt’s December survey polled 640 large companies, representing nearly 13.5 million employees in the United States.
