EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES BRACE FOR CONSERVATIVE SALARY RAISES

Most employers in Malaysia prepared to increase salaries up to 6% amidst uncertain market
 
Malaysia, 25 Mar 2024 – Hays, the global leader in workforce solutions and specialist recruitment released the 2024 Hays Asia Salary Guide which surveyed 2,014 skilled professionals and 832 employers from Malaysia. The guide compiles salary and sector overviews based on real data and a survey of skilled professionals across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong SAR, and Japan.
 
Employers saw a shift towards more conservative estimates, with more companies either looking to give raises of between 3% and 6%. Employers looking to give raises up to 3% or surpassing 10% fell in comparison to 2023. The proportion of employers anticipating no changes to salary or who anticipate giving out pay cuts also fell. 
 
 
 
22.2% of employers surveyed reflected plans to increase salaries by up to 3%, while 43.0% said they intended to increase salaries by 3% to 6%. 12.6% said they expect salaries to remain the same, which is lower than the 15.9% reported for the previous year. 64.9% of employers also indicated plans to give bonuses in 2024, compared to 66.7% in 2023.
 
The largest shift in employee expectations compared to last year was for raises above 10%, with expectations falling from 28.6% to 22.8%. There was also a dip in expectations for raises between 6 and 10% (19.0% to 15.3%). On the other hand, expectations for raises up to 3% rose from 14% to 19%, while expectations for raises between 3 and 6% rose from 25.3% to 29.3%. Expectations for pay cuts remained largely the same.
 
“In the face of subdued economic growth forecasts for the upcoming year, employers and employees are bracing for the impact this will have on revenue and overhead,” said Tom Osborne, Managing Director, Hays Southeast Asia.  “The crucial factor of success lies in how companies and their workplace navigate these challenges and ongoing skill shortages”.
 
On the hiring front, most employers in Malaysia expect permanent staff levels to stay the same, with 30.4% anticipating an increase. 15.7% plan to hire more contract staff in 2024.
 
For more 2024 trends and insights, download the 2024 Hays Asia Salary Guide.   
 
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Contact 

For more information contact:
Hays Malaysia Marketing Team
E: marketing@hays.com.my

 
About Hays Malaysia

Agensi Pekerjaan Hays (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd ("Hays Malaysia") is one of the leading specialist recruitment companies in Malaysia in recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people across a wide range of industries and professions. We provide mid to senior level recruitment services across both finance and commerce industries. We have become known as the experts in sourcing regional and global candidates, as well as returning Malaysians.

Hays has been in Malaysia since 2012 and boasts a track record of success and growth, with two 
operating offices located in KLCC and Sunway. At Hays in Malaysia, we operate across the private and public sector, dealing in permanent positions, and workforce solutions such as recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) in the following specialisms: Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Construction, Engineering, Human Resources, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Marketing & Digital, Procurement, Supply Chain, Sales and Technology. We continue to strengthen our position in Asia with the world-leading ISO 9001:2015 certification in all our operational markets including Malaysia, China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.
 
About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, such as RPO and MSP. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2023, the Group employed over 12,300 staff operating from 249 offices in 33 countries. For the year ended 30 June 2023:

– the Group reported net fees of £1,294.6 million and operating profit of £197.0 million;
– the Group placed around 76,800 candidates into permanent jobs and around 245,000 people into temporary roles;
– 15% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 30% in Germany, 21% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent placement 
business represented 43% of net fees;
– Technology is the Group’s largest division, with 26% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Engineering (10%), are the next largest
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, 
Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, 
Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, the UK and the US