Positive factors to hike Thai wages

“Although this figure has gone up slightly from 0.8 per cent last year, it is clear that our country is facing strong pressure in the job market,” Pichpajee Saichuae, managing director of Towers Watson (Thailand), said yesterday.

“On one hand, low unemployment is a positive sign of economic activity, reflecting high demand for goods and services. On the other hand, it also shows a lack of human resources that can have negative effects in the long term,” she said. “Thailand has long suffered from a lack of quality talent and still faces issues over its workforce’s language skills. Thus Thai employees will face competition from capable candidates from across the region – including  India and the Philippines.” 

 

Covering all groups 

The company’s annual survey on salary movement, conducted among companies from 18 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, covered all employee groups, ranging from executive directors to middle management, down to technical operations and production.

It found that the salary increases will basically be rolled out in the same percentage, regardless of activities. However, financial services are poised to experience a slightly higher overall increase of 6.5 per cent. 

 “Such detailed statistics on salary movements, compared with key economic indicators, can help companies plan their compensation budgets ahead,” Pichpajee said.

According to the Towers Watson report, salaries in other countries within the region are also on the way up. 

The biggest projected salary increases are expected in Bangladesh (12.05 per cent), Vietnam (12 per cent), India (11.2 per cent), Indonesia (9 per cent), China (8.75 per cent) and the Philippines (7 per cent).

On the other end of the spectrum, with the lowest raises expected, are Japan at 2 per cent and Brunei at 1 per cent. Thailand’s salary increase is comparable with Malaysia (5.5 per cent), South Korea (5.35 per cent) and Singapore (4.5 per cent).