The Outlook is Bleak

Workers in the private sector are set for a year of stagnant wages and few chances to move, as pay and hiring suffer the fallout from coronavirus. 

More than half of private sector firms expect to freeze pay over the next 12 months, according to the latest Labour Market Outlook from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). 

Just two in five employers plan to recruit new staff in the three months to July 2020, the lowest level since the CIPD survey began in 2005. Worryingly, 22 per cent of organisations said they expect to make redundancies before July, as the economic uncertainty begins to bite. 

Gerwyn Davies, senior labour market adviser for the CIPD, said: 'Employees should brace themselves for pay freezes or even pay cuts to help preserve jobs.'