Lower salary increases in Asia
Salary increases across Asia have taken a dive, with companies in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan posting the biggest downward salary adjustments.
The average salary increase across Asia in 2009 is now averaging at 4.8%. This is 30% below 2008′s 6.9% salary increase, finds a recent ECA International survey.
Singapore and Hong Kong both registered a 2% salary increase, far from the 5% number in 2008. The last time Hong Kong saw a 2% increase was during the SARS outbreak. About 36% of companies in these two cities also said that they would be freezing salaries as well.
Lee Quane, ECA’s regional director for Asia says the economic downturn is most evident in Japan. “Just over six months ago, companies operating in Japan were forecasting that salaries would increase by a relatively healthy 2.8%, now half of companies we spoke to said they would be freezing pay.”
However, wage salaries are still expected to increase by 10.8% in India followed by Vietnam at 10.6%. Indonesia tails in third place with a salary increase of 9%.
The high increase in India is attributed to the huge demand for talent, says Quane. “While in Vietnam and Indonesia persistently high levels of inflation are keeping increases up.”
The survey was conducted among 120 companies globally.
Source: Sandbox Advisors, HRM, ECA International survey
