Pay raises for salaried workers flat in Hub

Workers struggling to make ends meet saw little relief in their paychecks this year, and may not see much next year either.

A survey released this week by Hewitt Associates found that average pay increases for Boston's salaried employees remained low at 3.4 percent in 2004, and their annual pay will increase by just 0.4 percentage points to 3.8 percent in 2005. Nationally, the average pay increase in 2004 was 3.4 percent.

This year's salary increases represent some of the lowest wage increases the consulting firm has recorded since it began collecting the data 28 years ago.

''Base salary increases have never been lower and, in particular, employees who work for a company that does not offer bonuses or variable pay are at a pretty significant disadvantage," said Hewitt business leader Ken Abosch.

The projected 2005 increases for Boston and the nation are considerably lower than the 4.5 to 5 percent annual raises that dominated during the economic boom. One exception: employees at firms that offer variable compensation, such as bonuses or profit sharing, which typically is offered when performance warrants it and is not a part of base salary.

Take Kristen Coppins, 23, of Wilmington. She received a $2,000 one-time bonus recently because she had reached several company benchmarks. ''That raise was based on performance and the amount of business you bring in," she said.

Coppins said she also received a $4,000 raise in May after she was promoted from an entry-level job to a position as a recruiter at the Employee Staffing Group in Boston. Coppins, who recruits clients and job candidates, now earns $32,000 per year.

Ed Speidel, a principal at Mellon Financial in Boston, said employers will not feel pressured to boost wages unless demand for labor exceeds the supply of available skilled workers.

''Employers will not feel that they need to raise salaries significantly," said Speidel. ''There are certain industries such as health care, life sciences, and some areas of technology where that is not true and there is more pressure to increase salaries."

Hewitt's projections indicate Boston's salaried employees will receive a bit more in their paychecks next year than those in other regions. It attributed the slight uptick in Boston to gains among makers of pharmaceuticals and electronic equipment and in professional services, research and development, and finance.

By contrast, salaried employees in Atlanta are forecast to see their annual wages rise 0.2 percentage points, up from 3.3 percent this year. In Los Angeles, where average pay increases were 3.5 percent in 2004, employees' pay will rise 3.8 percent in 2005, an increase of 0.3 percentage points over 2004, Hewitt predicted.

Salaries will remain flat in New York and Washington, however. In New York, salaries rose 3.4 percent this year and are expected to do the same in 2005.

Hewitt tracked the average salary increase at 1,185 US firms in 10 metropolitan areas.

Diane E. Lewis can be reached at dlewis@globe.com.