UK pay awards hold at 3.5% in three months to May, IDR survey shows

July 8 (Reuters) - British pay settlements held steady in the three months to May, a survey showed on Thursday, a sign that the domestic wage pressures watched closely by the Bank of England remain stubbornly high.

Data company Incomes Data Research (IDR) said the median pay award across the economy was 3.5% for a fifth survey running.

Last month a survey from human resources publisher Brightmine also showed pay awards settling north of 3%, although employers forecast smaller deals in 2027.

IDR said pay awards were bolstered in part by April's 4.1% rise in the National Living Wage to £12.71 ($16.96) an hour, which fed through to reviews in lower-paying sectors such as care, hospitality and retail.

The company noted an increase in higher-end pay deals among manufacturing employers.

"They still face pressures to offer competitive rates of pay in order to recruit and retain staff," said IDR senior researcher Zoe Woolacott.

IDR's survey was based on 247 awards from across the whole economy effective between March 1 and May 31, mostly at large organisations and together covering nearly 3.9 million workers.

($1 = 0.7492 pounds)

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Suban Abdulla)