Asian Employees Will See Fatter Pay Checks in 2023
- By DWFTrends editors
- January 10, 2023
Across the Asia-Pacific region, employers have been forced to offer competitive compensation packages or risk losing talented workers. Aon, a financial services company, forecasted the 2023 median salary increase across industries to be at 6.8% for Indonesia, 5.1% for Malaysia, 6% for the Philippines, 4.7% for Singapore, 5.1% for Thailand and 7.9% for Vietnam. Except for Malaysia, all figures exceed 2022 rates.
The 2022 Salary Increase and Turnover Study for Southeast Asia (SEA), which polled more than 700 companies about pay changes and turnover rates, also found that while inflation is a significant factor driving salary increases in the ASEAN region, an increasingly tight talent market — with high rates of employee turnover this year — has prompted employers to offer higher pay packages to ease hiring and retention.
Rahul Chawla, head of human capital solutions for Southeast Asia at Aon, explained the survey results, "Companies must define their 2023 salary increase approach in the context of the competitiveness of their current salary levels. While it is critical for businesses to define and adapt pay for different worker types and the nature of the work, organizations must stay agile as they rethink their pay principles."
In line with Aon's findings, the results of a survey by Mercer released last month also show that pay hikes are up this year.
According to Mercer's Total Remuneration Survey, the Asian-Pacific region's markets are expected to see an overall salary growth of 4.8% in 2023 — a slight increase from the previous year.
Mercer noted, however, that some countries were seeing higher increases in pay than others. India's projected increase was highest at 9.1%, while Japan had the lowest at 2.2%. Only mainland China, at 5.38%, is seeing a slight decrease in salary. The survey also showed that most workers in Asia-Pacific expect to receive a pay raise at or above inflation levels.
Meanwhile, a Global Salary Survey from recruitment company Robert Walters revealed that over 78% of Singaporean workers were willing to consider changing jobs next year should their pay raises be lower than the inflation rate. In the survey, 80% of employees said they would likely ask for more pay in the coming months, while 71% expected salary increases to be reviewed against the rising cost of living.
Image credit: iStockphoto/Liubomyr Vorona