Over 90 per cent of firms have either introduced pay freezes or reductions in the last six months, the business organisation Isme claimed today.
According to a survey of over 400 companies, 50 per cent of firms have implemented a pay freez while 41 per cent have reduced wages with the average pay cut being 13 per cent.
Up to 80 per cent of firms who introduced a pay freeze expect it to last for 12 months or more.
A similar survey published earlier this month by the Small Firms Association (SFA) found that nearly 70 per cent of small firms said they expected to introduce a pay freeze in the next three months while 23 per cent will cut wages.
The Quarterly Small Business Sentiment Survey showed that 30 per cent of companies had been forced to make redundancies while 28 per cent expected to do during the next quarter. In addition, 63 per cent of companies have stopped recruiting.