A recent study shows that 98 percent of companies will increase base pay this year.
One local economist said this is because companies are more confident about their economic future.
CMU Economics Professor Paul Natke said the current economic climate has employers more willing to hire new workers
"Now that it's been going on for a over a year, employers are getting more confident about the future, about their sales. So now they're willing to do two things. Hire more workers and increase compensation to their workers," Napke said.
Natke said workers who have dealt with stagnant wages for the past few years may see their patience pay off.
"It's basically a matter of expectations and if the employees have sacrificed for the firm by not taking wage increases (over the past few years) employers think it's the right to raise them," he said.
Natke said typically during an economic recovery there is a lag in full time employment and salary increases because employers are unsure about the future.
The study shows employees should see a 2.8 percent raise in their paychecks, which is an average of $38 per pay check for someone earning $50,000 a year.
An additional survey done by the Towers Watson research firm shows that in 2009, 32 percent of companies had salary freezes. In 2011, only 5 percent of companies plan to do so.