Big Four giant PwC is spending $316 million on increasing pay, and boosting starter salaries 10%, to help employees fight the cost of living crisis

• PwC's UK arm is hiking pay and bonuses in order to help staff cope with rising living costs.
• The firm said Sunday it plans to spend $147 million increasing pay and $169 million on bonuses.

Big Four consulting and accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will spend more than £120 million ($147 million) in pay rises, and boost starting salaries by 10%, in order to help employees cope with the surging cost of living.

Half of PwC UK's 22,000 workforce will see pay increase by 9%, while 70% of staff will get at least a 7% pay rise from July 1st, the firm announced on Sunday, and later reported by the BBC.

It has also allocated £138 million ($169 million) to cover increases in bonus payments, £10 million ($12.3 million) more than last year, per the release.

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The rise, which the audit firm claims is the biggest investment in staff pay for a decade, reflects a growing awareness among employers on both sides of the Atlantic that they need to do more to help workers cope with rampant inflation and soaring fuel costs, if they want to attract people amid a continually tight labor market.

"As a business and an employer we can't ignore market pressures and want to ensure pay at every level is as competitive as possible'" Kevin Ellis, chairman and senior partner of PwC UK, said in the statement.

The firm, which operates as a separate regional entity, has also hiked graduate salaries in its audit division by 10% to £32,000 ($39,300), and by 8% for consulting graduates to £33,500 ($41,100).

"We know from staff surveys that base pay is particularly important to our people, given the bearing it can have on mortgages and future salary," Ellis said.

"We know pay will be an increasingly important consideration given rising living costs — we want to stay competitive and continue attracting the best talent and skills from across the UK. That's why it's important to invest now," Ellis said.

The UK inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Pricing index of goods , reached 9.1% in the 12 months to May 2022. US inflation rose 8.6% during the same period. Wages have not kept up at the same rate.

PwC joins a growing list of firms to have announced pay rises linked to economic turbulence of late.

On Thursday, the iconic engine maker Rolls-Royce announced plans to give 11,000 shop floor workers £2000 cash bonus and a back-dated pay increase.

The union representing the workers later rejected the proposal, which Rolls-Royce said equates to a 9% pay rise, on the grounds that it "falls far short of the real cost of living challenge."