The median basic pay award has fallen to 2.6%, according to the Industrial Relations Service (IRS).

In the three months to the end of February 28% of pay deals were pay freezes and the IRS is also reporting pay cuts.

Almost six out of 10 pay deals (59%) are lower than they were at the end of February 2008 and only 31% were higher than they were a year ago.

Sheila Attwood, IRS pay and benefits editor, said: "The most common pay award so far this year is nil. But the majority of organisations are still making pay awards, albeit at lower levels than a year ago. We expect the median pay award to hover around its current position over the next few months."