Cost of living | Highest pay rises in years 'still below inflation'

Pay rises are at their highest in a decade – but still fall a long way short of inflation, new research has found.

Data from HR solutions provider XPertHR shows that the median pay rise for the three months to the end of February 2022 was 3%, a number that remains unchanged from the last rolling quarter. However, with inflation now expected to hit 7% in April and possibly exceed 8% in the next few months, a pay rise of 3% is less than half what would be needed to make up the shortfall – and staff will feel the squeeze on their pay packets.