NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Salaried workers can expect to see their base salaries rise 3.7 percent in 2007, nearly the same increase as in 2006, according to a new survey.

But opportunities for salary awards tied to high performance remain available to many employees next year, according to the survey of 1,028 large organizations by Hewitt Associates.

Executive employees are projected to see salary increases of 3.8 percent, compared with 3.6 percent for salaried workers who receive overtime and 3.3 percent for union employees.

Variable pay will make up 11.0 percent of companies' total payroll, down slightly from 11.2 percent this year.

Variable pay has grown since the early 1990s, when only 51 percent of companies offered it, to 80 percent of companies in the survey.

"In today's competitive global economy, companies are unwilling to increase costs to their bottom line; therefore, they are relying on variable pay to help motivate employees and help them cope with growing economic pressures," said Ken Abosch of Hewitt.

"The bottom line is that variable pay is a smarter way to manage a business in a good or bad economy."

Workers in some industries will see more gains than others. Industries with above-average gains include energy (4.5 percent), construction/engineering (4.1 percent) and aerospace (4.0 percent).

Report: Most not seeing real wage gains

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