Raises are back in style again. The 2011-2 0 12 WorldatWork Salary Budget survey predicts companies will pay the average Joe 2.7 percent more in 2011 and top performers 4 percent more.

Don’t confuse top performers with top executives. Pay for performance tends to be fairly evenly distributed among all levels of organizations, says Alison Avalos, research manager for WorldatWork in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Not only is the amount of the average pay raise slightly higher this year (the 2010 average raise was 2.5 percent, according to WolrdatWork), but more companies are also planning to give raises. Last year, 10 percent to 20 percent of organizations gave out no pay raises, Avalos says. This year, just 3 percent of companies plan no raises, and only one industry -- public administration -- is not showing signs of a salary recovery, she adds.

That said, workers in some professions and industries have a better chance of seeing higher average salary increases in 2011.