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mpc: 19 The news on pay was mixed. Earnings growth in the public sector was slowing quite quickly, and by more than could easily be accounted for by the effects on the data of previous delayed pay settlements; and recent pay awards in the public sector were lower than a year earlier. But in the private sector, earnings growth had picked up in the second half of the year and pay settlements continued to move higher. Bonuses, however, had been surprisingly weak in December ­ the first month of what had been expected to be a rather more buoyant season for financial sector bonuses. It was too early to tell whether this was simply a matter of timing, such that the expected bonuses would be paid in the coming months, or reflected more widespread weakness in the sector's bonus payments than many had been expecting. Despite weakness in the insurance industry, the overall performance of the financial sector over the past year had been strong. There were also indications that some December bonuses had been paid in a way which exploited a tax loophole that had since been closed, so the payroll-based data might not fully reflect the bonuses actually paid.