NATION Average raises lower than predicted

CBS MARKETWATCH
SAN FRANCISCO -- Workers hoping for a raise in the near future shouldn't have great expectations: Pay increases are coming in at the lowest level in at least a decade.
U.S. salaried workers will receive an average 3.5 percent pay increase for 2003, rather than the 4 percent previously projected by employers -- and they can expect about the same next year, according to data from The Conference Board, a nonprofit economic research group.
This is the first time in 10 years that median salary-budget increases have moved significantly below 4 percent, according to the survey of 531 companies.
Yet, despite the declines, workers are actually gaining ground. The average increase is running almost a full percentage point ahead of the projected 2.6 percent inflation rate for 2003.
Eighty-three percent of employees will receive pay increases this year, down from 85 percent in 2002 and 94 percent in 2001, according to the WorldatWork survey.