Nearly half of employers in PH eye 6%-10% salary hike—survey

MANILA, Philippines —Nearly half of employers in the country are eyeing a 6-percent to 10-percent salary increase this year for middle management staff and top executives, falling within the same range of employee expectations, according to the latest salary survey by the local unit of British recruitment firm Robert Walters.

According to the Robert Walters Global Salary Survey 2024, 44 percent of employers expressed the intent to provide this much salary, while 34 percent said they intend to make an upward adjustment of 1 percent to 5 percent.

In the same survey, which was conducted during the third quarter last year among 2,000 respondents, the remaining 15 percent of employers said they want to implement a salary hike of 11 percent and above in 2024.

“If we look at the data, I think what is interesting to mention is that the largest percentage of employers and employees would be agreeing somehow in that range of increased salary that goes from 1 to 10 percent,” Alejandro Perez-Higuero, director of Robert Walters Philippines, told reporters during a media roundtable.

READ: New Year brings wage increases in Metro Manila, Caraga

On the employee side of things, 18 percent expect a 1-percent to 5-percent increase, 44 percent expect a 6-percent to 10- percent increase, while 38 percent see an increase of 11 percent and more.

Retention initiatives

For people changing jobs, the same survey said an average of 15 percent to 25 percent salary increase, while as much as 30 percent can be expected for candidates with niche skill sets.

Another highlight of the study is that 80 percent of employers are prioritizing retention initiatives as among their top priorities.

READ: Staff retention overtakes hiring as country’s top HR challenge

“This is because the market in the Philippines, of course, is having a rising cost of (living) and it’s also getting more and more competitive. We have this trend worldwide where many international companies are cutting down their teams,” he said.

“At the end of the day, the retention of the talent… becomes a priority because it’s an issue,” added Perez-Higuero, citing other contributing factors such as the shortage of qualified applicants and the relatively small number of employees with niche skills, among others.