2018 Annual Salary Increment Trends in Southeast Asia (Infographic)

In the 2018 Job outlook & salary survey conducted by JobStreet.com and jobsDB, a total of 4,463 salaried employees and 599 employers in Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand were surveyed with regards to the annual salary increment trends for 2018.

The survey revealed the following observations on a regional level:

• Employees in Vietnam received the highest average salary increment at 14%, while Thai workers received the lowest average salary increment at only 5%.
• Employees in Southeast Asia saw an overall average salary increment rate of 8% in 2018.
• More than half of the surveyed employees in the Philippines didn’t receive any salary increment at all, compared to 34% of surveyed employees in Vietnam who experienced the same.
• Employees who got promoted received an average salary increment of 14% vs those who didn’t get promoted with an average salary increment of 5%.
• Management level employees benefited from higher salary increment compared to entry level employees and fresh graduates.

Breaking it down by country, the following annual increment trends were highlighted in the study:

Indonesia

• Almost half of the employees did not receive any salary increment in 2018 (55% received vs 45% who didn’t).
• The average salary increment rate was 7.7%, indicating that salaries are rising ahead of the national inflation rate of 3.9%*.
• Employees who got promoted received an average salary increment of 12% vs those who didn’t get promoted with an average salary increment of 5%.
• The top 3 job specialisations with the highest salary increment:
  • Sales – Retail/General: 10%
  • Human Resources: 10%
  • Banking/Financial Services: 9%
• The top 3 industries that offered the highest salary increment:
  • Oil/Gas/Petroleum: 11%
  • General and Wholesale Trading: 10%
  • Food & Beverage / Catering / Restaurant: 9%

Malaysia

• 6 out of 10 employees received a salary increment in 2018 (58% received vs 42% who didn’t).
• The average salary increment rate was 8%, indicating that salaries are rising ahead of the national inflation rate of 2.9%*.
• Employees who got promoted received an average salary increment of 17% vs those who didn’t get promoted with an average salary increment of 5%.
• The top 3 job specialisations with the highest salary increment:
  • Customer Service: 14%
  • IT/Computer – Software: 12%
  • Marketing/Business Development: 10%
• The top 3 industries that offered the highest salary increment:
  • Medical/Healthcare/Hospital:  13%
  • Computer/Information Technology (Software): 12%
  • Retail/Merchandise: 12% 

Philippines

• More than half of the employees did not receive any salary increment in 2018 (45% received vs 55% who didn’t).
• The average salary increment rate was 6%, indicating that salaries are rising ahead of the national inflation rate of 3.02%*.
• Employees who got promoted received an average salary increment of 15% vs those who didn’t get promoted with an average salary increment of 3%. 

Singapore

• 6 out of 10 employees received a salary increment in 2018 (56% received vs 44% who didn’t).
• The average salary increment rate was 9%, indicating that salaries are rising ahead of the national inflation rate of 1.29%*.
• Employees who got promoted received an average salary increment of 16% vs those who didn’t get promoted with an average salary increment of 8%.
• Only 20% of surveyed employees were promoted last year, signalling steep competition. Those who did get promoted received an additional 8% salary increment compared to their non-promoted colleagues.

Thailand

• 6 out of 10 employees received a salary increment in 2018 (61% received vs 39% who didn’t).
• The average salary increment rate was 5%, indicating that salaries are rising ahead of the national inflation rate of 0.98%*.
• Employees who got promoted received an average salary increment of 11% vs those who didn’t get promoted with an average salary increment of 3%.

Vietnam

• 7 out of 10 employees received a salary increment in 2018 (66% received vs 34% who didn’t).
• The average salary increment rate was 14%, indicating that salaries are rising ahead of the national inflation rate of 4%*.
• Employees who got promoted received an average salary increment of 22% vs those who didn’t get promoted with an average salary increment of 7%.

Source of stats:

• 2018 Job outlook and salary survey by JobStreet.com and jobsDB
• * Statista, March 2018

If you’re feeling frustrated because you didn’t receive as much of an annual increment as you would have liked, or if you didn’t receive any increment at all, we’re here to help. Sometimes the best way to show your worth is to show, not tell. And once you are ready, read this 8 must-do’s to nail the art of salary negotiation. 

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