Apparently unphased by the current brouhaha about an economic downturn and rising unemployment, employers are planning to hike salaries more than they had planned to do last summer, according to a recent compensation survey.

About 645 employers surveyed in December by William M. Mercer Inc. expect to grant pay increases of 4.2 percent to 4.6 percent in 2001.

Back in July 2000, Mercer’s survey of 2,439 U.S. employers found that they planned base- salary increases of 3.9 percent to 4.4 percent in 2001 for their employee groups.

The biggest projected hike is for technical and professional employees, according to Mercer.

In July, employers predicted that these employees would fetch pay raises of 4.2 percent in 2001. In the recent update, however, that projection had jumped to 4.6 percent. For more on pay boosts, click here.