Malaysia's Overall Salary Predicted to Increase by 5.2% in 2019

US-based consultant, Mercer, said that overall salary increases in Malaysia is projected at 5.2% in 2019, with life science and technology industries leading the pack. Mercer Malaysia CEO Hash Piperdy said most industries are expected to maintain similar salary growth rates for 2019, except for the consumer goods industry which has a slight increase of 0.3% in 2019.

Mercer’s survey shows Malaysia will remain a highly competitive economy, with 44% of millennials and 38% from Generation X filling the workforce for 2019.

The research shows that life science and technology industries are leading in terms of the highest pay base and total cash increases for executive roles in 2019. Legal, finance and R&D functions are among the top three when it comes to types of roles most likely to fetch increases.

Mercer’s survey shows Malaysia will remain a highly competitive economy. Pic credit: Reuters

Specialist engineering and sales talent will be in demand, based on the positive signals in the semiconductor and biotechnology sector. The insurance industry is also projected to see healthy growth, with the banking and financial services industry seeing muted growth.

Piperdy said “The current focus on restructuring the economy, promoting diversity and raising productivity by the Malaysian government is taking light as the country takes progressive strides to be a highly competitive nation globally. This means an increased focus by companies to further invest in building their workforce for the future.”

Salary increase in other countries

In its recent “Compensation Planning for 2019” research, Mercer identifies key remuneration trends and makes hiring and pay increase predictions for 2019 across Asia, Africa, Middle East. Malaysia’s 5.2% salary increase in 2019 surpasses countries such as Australia (2.6%), Japan (2%) and New Zealand (2.5%).

According to the research, Bangladesh (10%), India (9.2%) and Vietnam (9.8%) are forecast to have the highest salary increases among emerging markets in 2019. The study also revealed that the highest-ranking executives in China out-earn their peers in the United States and United Kingdom.

The study said “Although it is important to note that this picture changes once long-term incentives and European social security benefits are factored in.”

The study was based on the Total Remuneration Surveys, Mercer’s flagship annual compensation and benefits benchmarking study participated by over 500 companies in Malaysia across 12 industries.

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