LONDON, May 13 Reuters British employers expect to raise wages by 4 over the coming 12 months, a similar rate to three months ago, according to an industry survey on Monday that suggested businesses were less willing to take on higher labour costs.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said expected median pay settlements in the private sector for the coming 12 months was unchanged at 4, while expectations in the public sector remained at 3.

British consumer price inflation slowed to 3.2 in March and the Bank of England expects it to have eased further to around 2 in April after a reduction in regulated energy prices.

While employers39; pay rise expectations remain above prepandemic levels, we would expect them to adjust their plans for pay rises in the coming months, as inflation falls and the labour market continues to slow, James Cockett, labour market economist at the CIPD, said.

The Resolution Foundation think tank, in a separate report on Monday, also said the current growth in inflationadjusted wages looked unsustainable.

Unless productivity picks up, wage growth will peter out, or pay rises will simply be passed on through higher prices and prolong our inflation problems, Resolution Foundation Research Director Greg Thwaites said.

A BoE survey of employers, published on Thursday, showed they expected to raise wages by 4.6 over the coming year, the smallest amount since the series started in May 2022.

Official labour market figures are…