Constella Staff Receive Below Average Salary Increases for 2007?

Washington Post, November 13, 2006

"Did you get a raise this year? Expecting one in 2007? To adjust your expectations, consider one survey that indicates pay increases in the region will be about the same next year.

Companies surveyed in the Washington area say they plan to set aside 4.2 percent of their '07 payroll budgets for raises, bonuses and other compensation, a nudge higher than the 4.15 percent they reserved in 2006 (Constella was reportedly 4.0 percent for 2006 and about 4 percent for 2007 - below industry averages for D.C.-based government consulting firms).

Among the 197 companies surveyed, government contractors anticipated the biggest budgets for pay increases in 2007 -- about 4.5 percent for salaried workers, according to the Human Resource Association of the National Capital Area.

"It may not seem like a big increase, but 0.1 percent can mean the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars for companies to give in pay increases," said Angelo Kostopoulos, a spokesman for the group.

The group surveyed businesses in several industries, including financial services companies such as Chevy Chase Bank and defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman Information Technology.

What the survey did not tell was how evenly those pay raises would be distributed among workers. A Washington Post analysis earlier this year showed that the most highly paid workers in the area received the biggest percentage pay raises between 2003 and 2005, while the lowest-paid received the smallest increases.

According to the analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, those in the highest pay brackets -- chief executives, lawyers and other professionals earning more than $100,000 -- saw their wages rise 8.5 percent. From 2003 to 2005, the average wage for people in the lowest pay bracket, with salaries around $20,000, rose only 5.4 percent in the Washington region -- not enough to keep up with inflation. "

While keeping salary increases at the lowest level of the norm and reducing employee benefits, Constella senior executives and directors received their customary bonuses for 2006.