LONDON (Reuters) -Average annual pay awards offered by British employers rose in the three months to May, after an increase in the minimum wage boosted pay significantly for some lower-paid workers, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Incomes Data Research said the median pay settlement awarded by major British employers had increased to 3.4% in the three months to May, up from 3.2% in the three months to the end of April.

Median pay awards for private-sector workers increased to 3.5% in the same period, while public-sector pay awards averaged 3.6%.

The proportion of private sector employers offering pay settlements of more than 6% jumped to 19% from April's 12%, reflecting higher increases in the services sector.

The National Living Wage rose by 9.7% at the start of April to 10.42 pounds ($14.34) an hour.

"The National Living Wage has a less direct impact in manufacturing, compared to private services," Zoe Woolacott, a senior researcher at IDR, said.

"However, manufacturing employers still face pressures to offer competitive rates of pay in order to recruit and retain staff." 

The news is could to be a concern for the Bank of England, which is keeping a close watch on inflation pressures in the economy.

The BoE, which held interest rates in June, has forecast a slowdown in pay growth this year and expects inflation to peak at 3.7% in September and remain just under 3.5% for the remainder of 2025.

Official figures showed British pay growth slowed sharply in the three months to April to 5.2% while inflation cooled in May.

IDR's survey, covering pay deals for 3.3 million employees, was based on 178 awards between March 1 and May 31.

($1 = 0.7266 pounds)

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla, editing by Andy Bruce)