Salaries in India are expected to rise by 10 per cent in 2023. Salaries in India will have increased by 9.8 per cent by 2022. With a 10 per cent increase, India will have the highest salary increase in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in the coming year, according to a survey released on Thursday.
According to the Salary Budget Planning Survey conducted by global advisory, broking and solutions firm WTW, China is expected to see a 6 per cent salary increase in 2023, followed by Vietnam at 8 per cent, Indonesia at 7 per cent, Hong Kong at 4 per cent and Singapore at 4 per cent.
Salary increases had slowed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Salaries increased by 7.5 per cent in 2020, up from 9.9 per cent in 2019. Salary increases were 8.5 per cent in 2021. This recovered to 9.8 per cent in 2022.
Financial services, technology, media and gaming, pharmaceutical and biotechnology, and chemicals and retail are expected to see the highest salary increases of 10 per cent. Salary increases in the manufacturing (durable goods), manufacturing (non-durable goods), and business process outsourcing sectors, on the other hand, are expected to be lower than the industry median.
However, attrition remains high in several fields and companies must monitor economic indicators when planning salaries.
“In India, the primary drivers of salary increases are business opportunity and employee retention. Organisations must closely monitor economic indicators and the labour market while remaining flexible in their salary budget planning,” WTW India's consulting leader of Work and Rewards, Rajul Mathur said.
“With a projected attrition rate of up to 24 per cent for key talent segments, organisations must look beyond pay increases and consider changes to their benefits, employee experience strategy, career paths, and work and stress management support they provide to their employees,” he added.
According to the report, nearly 80 per cent of Indian companies expect higher business revenue in the next 12 months, implying that overall business confidence remains high.