Human resources data firm ECA International (ECA) said on November 22, Thursday, that Singaporean employees will be receiving a 2.6 percent increase in pay in 2019. This forecasted pay raise is lower than the pay raise Singaporeans received this year, which was 2.9 percent, primarily due to higher inflation.
According to Lee Quane, the Regional Director for Asia at ECA International, “Singapore employees are expected to see a real salary increase of 2.6 percent in 2019, down from the 2.9 percent increase that they received this year. This is primarily due to the expected increase in inflation, from 1.0 percent in 2018 to 1.4 percent next year. However, Singapore will continue to see a higher increase than regional neighbours such as Hong Kong and Japan, and is only slightly below the Asia Pacific average of 2.7 percent.”
ECA’s yearly Salary Trends Report analyses present and forecasted wage raises for local workers in 69 countries around the globe.
Around the world, the average pay increase expected is 1.2 percent, less than half of Asia Pacific’s average. Countries in the region make up 14 out of the top 20 spots among the highest increases in real wages. In fact, nine out of the top ten spots were taken by Asian countries. Ukraine, the only non-Asian country on the list, ranked 9th along with the Korea Republic and Malaysia (2.7 percent real salary increase for 2019).
The top three in the list are India, with a 5 percent real salary increase for 2019; Vietnam, 4.9 percent; and Indonesia, 4.2 percent. Vietnam and Indonesia are considered as “rapidly growing economies.” China and Thailand tied in fourth place with a real salary increase of 4.1 percent predicted for 2019.
Quane also said, “Low inflation and rising productivity mean that many Asian economies, and therefore local salaries, are growing rapidly.”
Singapore is not included in the top ten but placed 11 out of 20 in terms of comparative salary increase among countries in the Asia Pacific.
Regarding Malaysia, the report read:
“The impact of recent political events in Malaysia have not made a noticeable difference to salaries, as the nominal rates of salary increases will remain at 5 percent in 2019, the same as in 2018.
“However, with inflation expected to increase at a faster rate in 2019 compared to 2018, Malaysians will not see as high a rate of increase in their real incomes in 2019 as they did this year.”
At the very bottom of ECA’s study is Argentina, where a forecasted decrease of 8.7 percent in average real wages is forecasted. In 2018, Argentinians’ salaries went down by 11.6 percent.
According to Quane, “The bad news continues for employees in Argentina with another predicted decrease in their real wages next year. The economic policies of President Macri that were designed to reverse years of economic turmoil have failed, resulting in an International Monetary Fund bailout of over USD $56 billion. With inflation set to remain sky-high at 31.7 percent, far outstripping salary increases, another decrease in Argentinian real salaries seems to be inevitable.”
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