Mercer’s Total Remuneration Survey reveals positive salary outlook for employees in Asia in 2024, reflecting ongoing economic recovery 

• Average salary increments projected at 5.2% across Asian markets in 2024, a slight increase from 2023
• Industries like Transportation Equipment and Banking/Financial have the highest salary increases 

SINGAPORE, 21 November 2023 – Employees in Asia can anticipate an average salary increase of 5.2% for 2024, according to Mercer’s annual Total Remuneration Survey (TRS) 2023. This projection represents a slight uptick from the 5.1% forecast for 2023 and 5% actual increase observed in 2022, indicating a positive trend of steady salary growth for the region.

Conducted between March and August this year, the survey collected data from multinational corporations across 12 markets and 15 industries in Asia, providing comprehensive insights into salary trends.

The TRS findings reveal notable variations in projected salary increases across different markets in Asia. India has the highest forecasted salary increase of 9.3% in 2024, followed by Vietnam (7%), Indonesia (6.5%) and the Philippines (5.7%). China-Shanghai (5.2%), Malaysia (5.1%) and Thailand (4.7%) are expected to experience healthy salary growth. Conversely, Japan (2.6%) has the lowest projected salary increase, followed by Taiwan (3.8%), Hong Kong SAR (3.9%) and Singapore (4.2%). South Korea (4.4%) and Vietnam are the only two markets that forecasted a slight decrease from 2023.

Source: Mercer Total Remuneration Survey 2023

Transportation Equipment, Banking/Financial Services to lead 2024 salary increases in Asia

Mercer’s findings also highlight the forecasted salary increases for 11 industries. Transportation Equipment and Banking/Financial Services lead with projected increases of 5.5% and 5.4% respectively, followed by the Chemicals, Life Sciences and Technology sectors, with similar expected increases of 5.3%. The Chemicals, Retail & Wholesale (4.8%) and Technology industries have experienced the most significant positive shifts from 2023.

Puneet Swani, Mercer’s Senior Partner and Career Business Leader for Asia, IMEA and Pacific, said, “The Transportation Equipment industry has benefited from the easing of lockdowns and decreased global trade and supply chain disruptions, while the Banking/Financial Services sector has had a strong year, driven by high interest rates and improved financial performance. The rebound in Life Sciences across most verticals in 2023, along with increased mergers and acquisitions activity, foreign investment and strong fundamentals, is driving the expectation of continued growth for 2024. As for Technology, the global slowdown in 2023 had affected most markets in Asia, but there are signs of recovery and higher salary increases are forecasted for 2024.”

 Source: Mercer Global Compensation Planning Report 2023

Swani added, “These findings underscore the importance of prioritizing competitive compensation packages to attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive job market. It is crucial for businesses to align their compensation strategies with market trends and employee expectations in order to foster a more motivated and engaged workforce. With the future of work in mind, companies should also consider leveraging technology for efficiencies and embracing skills-based frameworks to stay ahead.”

The Total Remuneration Survey, Mercer’s flagship annual compensation and benefits benchmarking study, identifies current pay practices and benefits policies, as well as budget, hiring and turnover trends for the year ahead. In addition, Mercer also conducts regular pulse surveys throughout the year to keep up with the impact of the rapidly changing business environment and compensation and workforce trends.

For more data and insights from Mercer’s Total Remuneration Survey 2023, please see here.

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