cfos hold the line on employee wages

majority of cfos polled don’t expect to increase raises and bonuses

menlo park, calif. (robert half international) — the majority of the nation?s employees are not expected to receive higher raises and bonuses in 2006 than they did in 2005, a new survey finds. less than one-third (29 percent) of chief financial officers (cfos) polled said they will give bigger salary increases in the coming year and just 20 percent anticipate boosting bonus amounts.

question: ?for 2006, do you anticipate offering higher raises than in 2005??
yes: 29%
no: 64%
don?t know/no answer: 7%

question: ?for 2006, do you anticipate offering higher bonuses than in 2005??
yes: 20%
no: 67%
don?t offer bonuses: 7%
don?t know/no answer: 6%

cfos who said they expected to increase raises and bonuses in 2006 were asked by what percentage these forms of compensation would rise. the mean responses were 5 percent for raises and 7 percent for bonuses. rising healthcare and energy costs were blamed for the thriftiness.