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You may see a slightly bigger pay check in 2012

American workers may get a slight raise in 2012, but the weak economy will likely still keep employers from getting too generous with the pay increases.That’s according to a new survey from Towers Watson, a professional services firm. The company found U.S. employers are planning to increase pay for salaried, nonexecutive employees by an average of 2.8 percent next year.Employees who are paid by

American workers may get a slight raise in 2012, but the weak economy will likely still keep employers from getting too generous with the pay increases.

That’s according to a new survey from Towers Watson, a professional services firm. The company found U.S. employers are planning to increase pay for salaried, nonexecutive employees by an average of 2.8 percent next year.

Employees who are paid by the hour can expect an average 2.7 percent increase, according to the survey.

That’s up slightly from an average increase of 2.6 percent this year and the year before, according to Towers Watson, which surveyed 773 U.S. companies earlier this summer to get the data. The results included those who plan no increases.

A separate survey from earlier this year, which was also conducted by Towers Watson but used a smaller group of companies, found that employers were expecting to offer slightly higher raises this year. Since then, however, many people have grown more pessimistic about the economy.

A similar study by another firm, Mercer, found that employees should expect a 3 percent raise next year — as long as they perform.

Even a small raise might be good news for many Americans who feel like they are working harder than ever. The push to do more has left many workers feeling pretty unhappy