Businesses are remaining ‘cautious’ with no dramatic headlines from this year’s local Salary Survey.

But that’s no bad thing following several years of noticeable decreases and artificially high increases in pay, according to experts at Anne Corder Recruitment.

The agency produces the Peterborough Local Market Survey in partnership with specialist reward consultants PayData Ltd.

While a quarter of participants revealed they had frozen pay, the survey revealed an overall average 2.5 per cent rise in salaries in the past 12 months.

“The results suggest that a plateau has been reached,” said ACR recruitment partner Nel Woolcott. “Last year there was a levelling out of salary increments following two or three years of quite severe dips and troughs across different industries. Companies are now ensuring they reward staff for their loyalty and hard work while demonstrating restraints over their budgets.”

The biggest winners according to this year’s figures have been advanced accounts clerks, store, warehouse and production supervisors and call centre managers who have notched up rises of between eight and 12 per cent. At the other end of the spectrum are marketing assistants, IT assistants and store, warehouse and production managers who have actually seen decreases of up to 2.2 per cent.

“Some of these differences are accounted for by the shift in the survey sample. We have some businesses taking part for the first time,” said Nel. “Generally, for the first time in several years, there is nothing within the results that is causing either alarm or delight.”

The Salary Survey is now in its 15th year and is recognised as a key tool for companies keen to remain competitive in the recruitment market.

To help that process, an interim report is planned for the new year, which companies are welcome to take part in. All participants receive a full copy of the survey enabling them to compare their salaries against others’.

PayData’s data services manager Tim Kellett, said: “The survey results make for interesting reading. Headline 2012 base pay increases from employers in the Peterborough area have been comparable to our national pay database, at between two and three per cent. However, the results show that actual salaries for locally-employed people have only risen by 1.4%, compared with 2.1% nationally.

“This difference may be driven by greater headcount changes locally than in the national market, where our customers tell us that personnel turnover has been at an historic low. Our experience tells us that, looking ahead to 2013, pay settlements are likely to be comparable to or below this year.”