Private sector pay is on the increase by more this year than in 2010, but is still likely to fall behind inflation, according to research conducted by Incomes Data Services.

The data suggests typical pay awards were running at 2.2% in November, up from the 2% rises that characterised most of the past year.

However, this is less than half the rate of retail price inflation (RPI).

Public sector employees by comparison still face pay freezes in most areas as a result of the government's spending cuts.

While the number of explicit pay freezes has been sharply declining, IDS expects public sector pay rises to fall from a typical 0.75% in 2010.