U.S. workers are expected to get slightly higher pay raises next year, marking the fourth increase in five years, according to the latest annual compensation survey by corporate advisor Mercer.
The survey found average raises expected to rise to 3 percent in 2015. That compares to 2.9 percent this year, 2.8 percent in 2013 and 2.7 percent in each of 2012 and 2011. The survey covers more than 1,500 large and medium employers.
The Southeast and the Northeast lagged the rest of the nation slightly, with expectations for an average of 2.9 percent raises.
Mercer found other examples of companies loosening purse strings some. For example, most organizations that reported salary freezes last year are giving raises this year. And in 2015, all but one percent of organizations predicted giving raises.
Employers are increasingly giving the most attention to top performers, widening the raise range between top employees (averaging 4.8 percent in 2015) and other workers. Merely average workers are expected to get 2.6 percent raises while the lowest performing are slated for .1 percent, according to the survey.
The largest average raises are expected to be in the energy industry (3.5 percent), with the low end of 2.8 percent in consumer goods and services (non-financial) sectors. The hardest employees for organizations to recruit and retain are professional (non-sales) IT workers followed by professional engineering employees, the survey found.
