Survey shows 13 per cent of the 889 organizations say they plan to freeze salaries in 2021.Getty Images/iStockphoto
Winter is coming and this year the forecast includes more salary freezes because of COVID-19.
Human resources consulting firm Morneau Shepell says 13 per cent of the 889 organizations it monitors say they plan to freeze salaries in 2021.
That’s far more than last year’s pre-COVID survey, which incorrectly predicted only two per cent of organizations would freeze salaries this year.
As things turned out, Morneau Shepell later determined that 36 per cent of organizations actually froze their salaries in 2020 because of the economic impact of the pandemic.
The firm estimates the 2020 weighted national average salary increase will be about 1.6 per cent including freezes – down from a 2.4 per cent average increase in 2019 and the first time since 2008 that the increase was below 2.0 per cent.
It says Alberta has been hardest hit this year, with average base salaries up only 1.4 per cent if salary freezes are included, and the province is expected to lag other parts of the country again in 2021.
Your time is valuable. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. Sign up today.