Washington area workers can expect their paychecks to increase by more than 4 percent next year, according to a report released Monday by the Human Resource Association of the National Capital Area.
The annual report, which surveyed nearly 200 local firms, looks at expected pay increases within white-collar professions.
Among the companies surveyed, professional services and publishing firms projected the highest pay increases at 4.5 percent.
Overall, employers in the region expect to boost pay by 4.2 percent next year, a figure that should keep up with expected increases in cost of living.
Economists said the increase could go even higher in the region’s tight labor market.
The Washington area has the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 3.2 percent, making salaries an important recruiting tool.
“Everyone is stressed,” said Stephen Fuller, director of the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis. “Everywhere I go, I have people telling me they can’t fill the jobs at the [current] salary.”
And with the majority of local companies looking to increase staff next year — 63 percent expect to increase staff in 2007 — the unemployment rate should remain steady or drop even further.
