Despite being a great year for business, Malaysians may not be receiving high salary increments.<\/p>\n
According to a poll conducted by recruitment company Hays, it has been revealed that when it came to increasing headcount and salaries, only 46% and 49% of businesses respectively were intending on doing so this year.<\/p>\n
But the survey, titled 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide, revealed that 73% of firms surveyed are expecting business activities to grow this year. Also, 66% of employers polled saw an uptick in business activity in the last 12 months.<\/p>\n
Optimism also grew on the expected performance of the national economy with 23% of employers expecting it to strengthen this year, an increase by 10% from the same poll in 2017.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not all bleak for employees. \u201cThose staying in a job are likely to see only modest salary increases while those changing employers have a better chance of securing a higher salary, but there are likely to be fewer new jobs coming to market,\u201d said Hays Malaysia regional director Tom Osborne.<\/p>\n
But he added that such increases would be moderate in 2018 with 49% of employers planning to offer salary increases between 3% and 6%, which is 1% down from 2017.<\/p>\n
The poll also noted that 39% of employers polled in 2018 plan to offer salary increases of more than 6% in the year ahead.<\/p>\n