Employees in Vietnam perceive themselves to be underpaid

Polling 483,000 employees across Vietnam, the survey by recruitment firms Talentnet and Mercer also found that of those who are paid market rates, 64% think they are underpaid.

Due to this misconception, workers are likely to look for other job opportunities. As such, HR managers need to communicate to workers how they are paid since transparency plays an important role in retaining talent, the survey said.

The survey also found that incomes at Vietnamese companies are 22% lower than at multinationals. It added that both multinational companies and local firms are expected to increase workers’ salaries by 7.1% in 2023. 

The top-three sectors which are forecast to increase salaries are high-tech (up 8.88%), insurance (8.2%), and life sciences (7.6%). 

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“This clearly reflects the needs of Vietnam’s economy, particularly in the post-pandemic era when consumers and businesses’ concerns are oriented toward healthcare and technology applications,” the survey’s authors wrote.

On the other end of the spectrum, oil, and mining (up 3.6%), manufacturing (up 6.1%) and retail (up 6.2%) will likely have the lowest pay growth. The manufacturing and retail sectors are likely to have high employee turnover rates, reported VNExpress.