Pay settlements have remained static at 3.5% in the three months to February, unchanged from the previous quarter, according to pay specialist Industrial Relations Services (IRS).

IRS researchers found that private sector deals remain high; the median basic pay award in the sector was 3.5%.

The analysis revealed lower public sector deals, with the median award falling to 2.9%, down from 3% in the year to January 2007. It found 50% of all pay deals in the sector were between 2.5% and 3%.

IRS pay and benefits editor Sarah Welfare says: “Pay awards in the private sector remain high, with the hike in headline inflation at the end of the year continuing to feed through to 2007 pay deals.

“But if the recently announced low public sector pay review body awards set the tone for this year’s public sector deals, we would expect this to pull down the whole-economy level of pay awards.”