KEY POINTS:
The good news is that the majority of New Zealand's privately owned businesses plan to increase salaries in line with inflation this year.
The bad news is that one third of these companies confirm they expect a cut in staff employed.
The figures are contained in the latest survey results from a report issued by accounting firm Grant Thornton.
The only bright light in the survey is that 57 per cent plan to increase salaries in line with inflation and a further 13 per cent actually expect to increase salaries above inflation.
A further 24 per cent will either offer no rise, or actually reduce pay, while the remainder say the situation is too difficult to predict.
"The New Zealand figures for salaries fairly closely reflect the average around the world across all the nations surveyed," said Grant Thornton (NZ) spokesman Peter Sherwin.
"But the expectations among businesses in Australia are higher, with 65 per cent saying they will increase salaries in line with inflation and 24 per cent looking at increasing them ahead of inflation.
"The most bullish on increasing pay above inflation include the Philippines, Poland, Botswana and South Africa, and Brazil."
The counterpoint for New Zealand employees is that their employment prospects are not as good as their pay outlook.
"Unfortunately, our report results confirm what another survey has just indicated - that 33 per cent of businesses expect to have a decrease in staff numbers," said Sherwin.
"At the same time, a majority (52 per cent) expect to have the same amount of staff, and 14 per cent actually predict an increase."
