ACCORDING to a survey by Mercer Malaysia, the average salary figures in Malaysia are to be expected to increase by 5.1 percent in 2024.
Despite the favourable findings in Mercer’s Total Remuneration Survey 2023, unveiled on Nov 20, 2023, the data suggests that Malaysia’s anticipated salary growth is marginally below the average increase of 5.2% expected across Asia in the coming year.
Comparing this estimation with other countries within the region, such as India and Indonesia, which are expected to have the highest media salary hikes next year, 9.3% and 6.5% respectively.
On the other side of the spectrum, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong are expected to be the Asian countries with the lowest projected median salary increase with the figures being 2.6%, 3.8% and 3.9% respectively.
In Malaysia, the projected salary increase for the upcoming year aligns with recent trends, with workers experiencing an average raise of 4.8% in 2022, followed by a 5% average increase in 2023.
In 2023, the energy, high-tech, and consumer goods/manufacturing sectors took the lead in salary hikes. The energy industry exhibited a median salary growth of 6.5%, followed by high-tech at 6.1%, and consumer goods/manufacturing at 5%.
Koay Gim Soon, Market Leader at Mercer Malaysia, highlighted that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and individual sectors have largely rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Several economic indicators also point towards further growth in the coming year.
Moreover, Koay mentioned, “Over half of the survey participants expressed their intention to increase payroll budgets for both 2023 and 2024, signalling a positive outlook for both companies and employees.”
