(Bloomberg) -- Employers in the U.S. will probably have to offer bigger pay raises to hire and retain skilled workers as the labor market tightens, according to a quarterly survey of chief financial officers.

About 70 percent of CFOs said they expect to boost worker pay by at least 3 percent, Duke University/CFO Magazine’s global business outlook survey of 547 U.S. companies showed Wednesday. Wage pressures are greatest in technology, services and consulting, manufacturing and health care industries.

Bigger bumps in pay have been the missing ingredient in the U.S. labor market recovery as corporate financial positions improve with demand. Attracting and keeping qualified employees was a top-five concern, according to the survey which also showed the strongest level of optimism about the economy since 2007.