Half of firms plan to freeze 2010 wages

LONDON (Reuters) - Half of the UK's employers are planning to freeze wages for the second year in a row, according to an employment trends study reported in the Financial Times.

The survey by the CBI employers' group and Harvey Nash, the recruitment consultancy, said that 47 percent of organisations, mainly in the private sector, said they would freeze pay at their next review.

"Market conditions continue to be tough and growth in 2010 will be feeble, so pay is going to be squeezed for some time to come," John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general, said.

The CBI survey of 240 employers also found that recruitment freezes were starting to ease, with 37 percent of employers operating freezes, down from 61 percent in the spring.

The CBI was unavailable for comment.

(Reporting by Sharon Lindores; Editing by Jan Paschal)