(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.

“The U.S. is finally entering a new phase in the economic recovery,” John Graham, a finance professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business in Durham, North Carolina, and director of the survey, said in a statement. “Finally, we are starting to see wage growth for employees that outstrips inflation. Given that CFOs expect continued strong employment growth, it is surprising that wage pressures are not even greater.”

Sixty-three percent of CFOs said that their companies have recently increased or plan to raise wages, and 26 percent said it was because they were having trouble luring or retaining skilled employees.

An improved outlook on business balance sheets and the economy may be the impetus firms need to raise wages. The finance heads’ gauge of optimism about the U.S. economy rose to 64.7 in three months to March from 63.7 in December. The group’s index of corporate sentiment climbed to 67.5 from 66.4.

One potential headwind for companies is the appreciation of the U.S. dollar, helping explain why CFOs project slower growth in capital investment, earnings and technology spending. One in four U.S. companies with at least a quarter of their sales in overseas markets have trimmed business spending in response to the greenback’s strength.

“We are in a midst of an ugly contest to see whether the eurozone, Japan or Canada can depreciate the most against the U.S. dollar, and China is probably next,” Campbell R. Harvey, a Duke professor and founding director of the survey, said in a statement. “U.S. exporters are being punished by these competitive depreciations and this will lead to lower profits and less employment.”

Instant Insights /

Wage pressures in U.S. beginning to mount

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