This is based on the most recent Pay and HR Update, a yearly study of about 400 businesses done by the business association Ibec.

This number aligns with the 84% of businesses that raised their basic pay rates this year.

The 3.8% rise predicted at this time last year was just exceeded by the average increase of 4.4% in 2023, indicating the continued pressure on consumer prices in the present inflationary climate.

“The majority of pay increases are in line with inflation, according to today's pay report,” stated Maeve McElwee, Executive Director of Employer Relations at Ibec.

“But certain businesses, such as hospitality and retail, have wage rises that are noticeably larger than average, which might be linked to workforce shortages in these areas.

“These sectors are currently grappling with challenges related to recruitment and retention, as well as adjustments in the national minimum wage,” she said.

According to the data, the hotel and retail industries will have average salary rises of 5.9% and 5.3%, respectively, in 2023. This year, additional pay increases of about 6% and 5% are anticipated.

In contrast, salary expectations in other industries may be more moderated in the coming years due to the growing cost of doing business.

“New and impending legislative changes, such as statutory sick pay, pension auto-enrolment, and enhanced protective leave entitlements, are posing significant additional cost challenges for businesses in the short to medium term,” said Ms McElwee.

In line with other parts of the research, in 2023, the average staff turnover for enterprises in this area was less than 10%, or one out of every ten employees.

“In a tight labour market, we've seen considerable turnover of staff where people have had opportunities maybe to move that weren't available previously and, with lots of competition for skills and talent, people have had an opportunity to move from one sector to another,” Maeve McElwee said on Morning Ireland.

Here, we're witnessing a little slowness. Individuals are opting to remain in their respective industries and sectors for extended periods of time. For HR departments that are having trouble hiring and retaining staff, this is welcome news.

According to her, workers will still rank hybrid working among their top five factors in 2024, but it won't have a significant impact on their decision to stay or quit a firm.

Maeve McElwee stated that wage pressures in the IT industry were comparable to those in other areas, notwithstanding the well-documented layoffs that had occurred recently.

“What we saw in IT was a rightsizing and scaling back to meet demands of the organisations rather than any single crisis within the sector itself,” she said.

In 2024, 45% of companies indicate they want to add more employees.

Only 29% of respondents said their company had the necessary capabilities to implement artificial intelligence, despite 59% of respondents thinking AI has the potential to improve productivity and working conditions.