Employers in Asia expecting modest salary increase

Workers in Asia can look forward to modest salary increases this year with most employers planning increments of between 3% to 6%, according to the latest Hays Salary Guide.

The economic slowdown due to global market uncertainties and the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak have dampened the already bleak outlook for jobs and wages this year. But employers are still going ahead with wage increases with only 17% of those surveyed not planning to, although those that are doing so are not looking at anything above 6%.

In fact, 34% of employers surveyed plan to increase wages by up to 3% while the same number of employers are looking at between 3% and 6%.

Employees in China can expect the highest salary increase with nearly 30% of them planning increments of 6% or more, while Japan employers are the least generous with only 5% of them looking to do the same.

Meanwhile, most Singapore employers (42%) are looking to increase wages up to 3% while their Malaysian counterparts (39%) are slightly more generous at 3% to 6%.