Will Goldman Sachs pay up this year?

Guess what? Goldman bankers could be on track to earn more than ever.

When the bank announced its third quarter results yesterday, it revealed it had set aside an average of $542,000 in pay per employee so far this year according to Bloomberg, 19% more than it paid employees in the first three quarters of 2005.

Higher average pay for the year to date comes despite the fact that the bank cut third quarter compensation expenses by 3.6%, to $3.5bn, whilst increasing headcount by 7%.

Could it be the firm has been exerting a special kind of charm in order to attract people at lower than market rates? Probably not. One equity analyst tells eFinancialCareers.com the reason for rising low cost headcount is probably less arcane: "New analysts and junior staff typically join in the third quarter."