LONDON (Reuters) - Major British employers gave average pay rises of 2.5% to their staff in the three months to June, unchanged from the first quarter of the year, data from industry consultants XpertHR showed on Thursday.
"The current run of pay awards at 2.5% looks set to continue as we head into the quieter months of the pay bargaining year," XpertHR analyst Sheila Attwood said.
Until about a year ago annual pay settlements in Britain averaged around 2%, but they have risen as employers found it harder to recruit staff.
Average weekly earnings - an official statistic that also includes pay rises from promotions and job changes - rose at their fastest annual rate in more than a decade at 3.6% in the three months to May.
Consumer price inflation, Britain's main inflation benchmark, held at 2% in June.
XpertHR's data showed that over the past year, median pay deals in the private sector were 2.5% while public sector pay rises averaged 2.3%.
On Monday, Britain's finance ministry said it planned to offer pay rises of more than 2% to teachers, senior doctors, police, prison guards and the military this year.
After the financial crisis, public sector pay rises were generally capped at 1% until 2017.