LONDON, March 15 Reuters British employers agreed pay rises averaging 5.0 during the three months to the end of January, well above historic norms, and a tight labour market means pay settlements are likely to remain high, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Incomes Data Research IDR said the median pay rise at major British employers had risen from 4.3 in the three months to the end of October and 3.4 in the first quarter of 2022.

Such relatively high increases are likely to continue further into 2023 due in part to the influence of the forthcoming uplift in the National Living Wage… but continued tight labour markets and elevated inflation will play a role too, Zoe Woolacott, senior researcher at IDR, said.

The National Living Wage a minimum wage rate which does not apply to apprentices or workers aged under 23 is set to rise by 9.7 at the start of April to 10.42 pounds 12.67 an hour.

The Bank of England is keeping a wary eye on pay growth, as many of its policymakers fear aboveaverage pay rises will slow the fall in inflation, which hit a 41year high of 11.1 in October and remains in double digits.

The IDR report also comes out just hours before finance minister Jeremy Hunt presents his annual budget statement, against a backdrop of strikes from doctors, nurses, transport workers and civil servants who are all seeking bigger pay rises.

IDR said its data mostly reflected privatesector wage deals especially in manufacturing as few publicsector wage agreements…