2009-04-08

By Editor, CIR

The recession is biting, with more companies cutting jobs and imposing pay freezes, reports consultancy Hay Group.

Its survey of 2,000 companies worldwide, found that 27% of companies had reduced their workforce and 36% instigated a pay freeze. But in the UK, the respective figures were 37% and 38%, while 34% of US companies were cutting jobs.

British companies also reported average base salary increases of only 1%, against a worldwide figure of 2.8%.

"We've moved from a recession in the advanced western countries to one that is truly global," said Nick Boulter, the group's global head of reward services. Hay Group also found that pay and employment trends in Asia and Latin America had worsened since its previous survey last November.

However, while one in three UK companies expect their 2009 results to be significantly worse than expected, the proportion rises to 40% of companies in the US and the rest of the world.

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