Two surveys found that actual 2010 salary budgets fell from original projections made in late 2009. In addition, pay raise budgets are expected to rise only slightly, if at all, for next year.

Compdata Surveys' 2010 Compensation Data Services Survey shows pay increase budgets at service firms fell to 2.2 percent, down from 2.5 percent in 2009. It will be nearly the same in 2011, as these firms predict a slight rise to 2.5 percent.

The Compdata survey contains data on nearly 100 industry-specific job titles and more than 250 benchmark titles, ranging from entry-level to top executives from service employers. The survey said pay increase budgets vary within the service industry—for example, accounting firms had the highest budget, 3.3 percent. Engineering firms have the next highest budget, at 3.0 percent.

Business services firms and technology and data processing firms reported pay increase budgets of 2.6 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. Media respondents had the lowest pay increase budget, 1.1 percent. Accounting firms project the highest pay increase budget in 2011 at 4.0 percent, with media projecting the lowest (1.8 percent).

2008 financial crash caused plummet.

The 2010 Culpepper Salary Increase Budget Update Survey from Culpepper and Associates also found that salary budgets were cut back from when the original survey was conducted in fall 2009. The financial crash in September 2008 caused salary increases to plummet from a global average of 4.23 percent in 2008 to 1.9 percent in September 2009. From late 2008 through mid-2009, the number of companies freezing salaries for all employees increased to 37 percent, according to Culpepper.

Salary budgets for 2010 have improved, although average projected base pay increases are still much lower than in the years prior to 2008. In September 2009, projected 2010 increases across all jobs and regions were forecasted to be 2.88 percent; by March 2010, that dropped to 2.77 percent, the Culpepper survey said.

In the United States, base salaries are projected to climb from an actual average increase of 1.66 percent in 2009 to 2.47 percent in 2010. Overall, increases in the United States, Canada, and the euro zone are lower and less volatile than other regions of the world, Culpepper said. In contrast, base salary increases in South America and Africa are higher and more volatile. Average global salary range structure increases across all jobs and locations are projected to rise from 1.25 percent in 2009 to 1.47 percent in 2010.

A relatively high number of companies (14 percent) plan to freeze salaries in 2010. However, while 13 percent of companies said they cut salaries in 2009, only one percent said they would do so in 2010. In addition, the percentage of companies intending to reverse pay cuts rose from 52 percent in September 2009 to 73 percent in the survey update. On a positive note, in September 2009, 51 percent of companies said they planned to unfreeze salaries by the end of 2010. By March 2010, that jumped to 70 percent of organizations.

The 2010 Compensation Data Services Survey is available from Compdata Surveys; http://www.compdatasurveys.com, mail to:customerservice@compdatasurveys.com; 800-300-9570. Cost: ranges from $400 and up.

The 2010 Culpepper Salary Increase Budget Update Survey is available from Culpepper and Associates; http://www.culpepper.com; 770-641-5400; mail to:support@culpepper.com. Cost: free to participants and subscribers, $295 for others.