It's not enough Vancouver has a notoriously high cost of living and skyrocketing property prices combined with grossly inadequate salaries. Next year, Vancouverites can expect below average - and in many cases zero - salary increases, according to survey results released Wednesday.

About 10 % of Vancouver employers surveyed reported they intend to freeze salaries in 2012. That's five times more than Toronto and Calgary.

"I'm baffled," said Feras Elkhalil, CEO of WPCG Recruitment. "It really speaks to employers not understanding that there are jobs elsewhere."

Vancouver employers are projecting average salary increases of 2.7% in 2012, slightly below the 2.8% national average, according to the Hay Group survey.

"There are Vancouver employers who recognize that they can attract people to the city's lifestyle, the degree of work-life balance, the gorgeous setting and take advantage of that," said Hay Group consultant Rachel O'Connor. "Once people are already somewhere, you do have that advantage of them not wanting to move."

Elkhalil, who has been forecasting a Vancouver brain drain, believes the city's climate and lifestyle won't be enough to keep people satisfied much longer.

"People have been settling for low salaries and freezes in exchange for the lifestyle," he said. "But this is the calm before the storm.

"There are some aggressive organizations coming into town like Amazon and Microsoft, and they're willing to pay. As soon as employers start losing their people, they'll start to wake up."

O'Connor said the poll indicated salary freezes were even across large and small organizations alike.