Ashurst has confirmed its associate salary rates for 2013-14, with lawyers with two years' post-qualification experience (PQE) receiving an extra £3,000 on last year.

The new rates, which came into effect from 1 May, see lawyers with one year's PQE earning £69,000, £2,000 more than last year's salary of £67,000, while the firm is raising the rate for lawyers with two years' PQE from £74,000 to £77,000.

Newly-qualified (NQ) pay has been held at £61,000, while trainee salaries have also been kept at last year's levels, with first-year trainees receiving £38,000 and second-year trainees taking home £43,000.

Ashurst HR director Sasha Hardman said: "We're obviously committed to ensuring that our salaries are competitive and our adjustments this year reflect that. Unsurprisingly though, in this market we've not seen a general upwards trend in salaries."

Ashurst's associate pay levels compare favourably with those recently announced by the magic circle, of which CC became the final of the five elite firms to unveil their 2013-14 rates yesterday (4 June).

Pay for CC's NQs stands at £63,500, with one-year PQE associates earning £69,500 and those with two years' PQE taking home £78,200. Last month Linklaters announced across-the-board increases in its junior salary bands, with NQ associates now earning £64,000 and one-year PQE lawyers on £69,500.

Ashurst 2013 junior pay bands (2012 in brackets):

Trainee year 1: £38,000 (£38,000)
Trainee year 2: £43,000 (£43,000)
NQ: £61,000 (£61,000)
One year PQE: £69,000 (£67,000)
Two years' PQE: £77,000 (£74,000)