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A
plunge in oil prices has pushed inflation sharply lower, and
means real wages are predicted to rise by an average of 2.5
percent globally in 2016, the study by human resources firm Korn
Ferry Hay Group showed.
Nominal wage growth of 4.9 percent across a range of 24,000
firms and organizations around the world was in line with recent
years. But the fall in inflation was putting more money into the
pockets of consumers globally, Benjamin Frost, a consultant with
Hay Group who oversees its salary databases, said.
"A lot of what they seem to be doing is spending that money and
companies are generally not doing badly either," Frost said.
"They are sharing the love with pay increases and hopefully that
will come back around into their tills again."
U.S. workers were on course for a 3.0 percent increase in wages
at the start of 2016, resulting in a 2.7 percent increase in
real pay when taking in account projected annual inflation of
about 0.3 percent at the same time, the study showed.
In Britain, wage growth of 2.5 percent and projected inflation
of just 0.2 percent meant British workers were on course for
stronger real wage growth than the 2 percent average expected
for employees in Western Europe.
Central banks, such as the Bank of England, are watching to see
if the fall in inflation results in lower pay rises in cash
terms, which would push down on future inflation and reduce the
need for raising interest rates from their rock-bottom lows.
The study was drawn from data from companies and organisations
in 110 countries.
The biggest gain in real wages by region was expected in Asia
where workers in China were likely to see a 6.3 percent increase
in 2016 as demand grew for skilled workers despite the economy's
economic slowdown, it said.
(Reporting by William Schomberg; editing by David Milliken)
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