Survey projects steady pay improvements.

This article reports that companies in Northeast Ohio are planning average wage and salary increases of 3.3% in 2006, a hike similar to pay boosts this year, according to a just-completed survey conducted by the Employers Resource Council (ERC). Marty Mordarski, manager of workplace research for ERC, said that the wage and salary plans of the 193 companies that took part in the survey indicate a cautious approach to employment costs during what appears to be a slowly improving local economy. Manufacturing companies that participated in the ERC survey said they were planning for average raises next year ranging from a low of 2.8% for unionized production workers to a high of 3.5% for executives.