News release: “With total salary increase budgets now barely exceeding inflation, even top performers may barely be keeping up with cost of living increases, according to The Conference Board Salary Increase Budgets for 2010-Winter Update, containing revised projections for 2010 U.S. salary budgets and salary structure adjustments. Projected new 2010 projections show that salary increase budgets in the U.S. will be below 3 percent for the first time in more than two decades, and projected 2010 salary structure adjustments for all categories of employees are not expected to top 2.0 percent — well below The Conference Board’s forecasted inflation rate (2.6 percent)…This historical low is consistent with historically low growth in government compensation measures. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index released last week, in the 12 months to December 2009, total compensation grew by 1.5 percent while consumer prices rose by 2.7 percent, meaning that, adjusted for inflation, total compensation fell by 1.3 percent. The Employment Cost Index’s increase is the lowest since the BLS survey began in 1982; prior to this recession, the 12 month percent change never went below 2.7 percent.”