Malaysia Workers Expected to See 2.8% Wage Increase in 2022
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According to Salary Trends Report 2021/2022, Malaysian employees are expected to see a real wage increase of 2.8% next year, up from a 1.5% growth in 2021.
ECA International, an employee management data and software provider, reported that Southeast Asian (SEA) countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, would be among nations expected to witness the fastest rate of wage increase in 2022 versus this year. The report said the salary increase is due to the recovering economy and the resume of international travel.
ECA International Asia regional director Lee Quane stated Malaysia and Indonesia were two of the countries most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and are expected to see some of the highest salary growth increase in the Asia Pacific next year.
He said that if the two countries can keep inflation under control next year, the improved economic outlook would mean that real wage increase rates for employees in these nations would be some of the highest in the region.
Real wage growth
As in previous years, the report indicated that the Asia Pacific region is expected to lead the way again in salary hikes for employees with a predicted average real increase of 1.9% across the area.
This percentage is higher than all the other regions, as the worldwide real salary growth is predicted to be just 0.9% on average.
Quane said that although the report forecasted other regions, such as Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, to have a higher nominal increase, the APAC region is predicted to have significantly lower inflation levels in 2022.
He explained that once inflation is taken into account, APAC workers will see a much higher real wage increase than other parts of the world. According to the report, Singapore workers will see a higher increase in salaries next year, with expected average wage increases of 3.5%.
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The predicted real salary increases in Asia Pacific countries.
After factoring in inflation, which is expected to stay around the same levels as 2021 at 1.5%, Singapore employees will see a real wage increase of 2.0% on average, up from 1.2% in 2021.
Quane said Singapore workers would also see a notably higher increase in their salaries than in previous years, with the forecasted 3.5% increase from 2.8% in 2021 and 2.5% in 2020.
The report also predicted that only 6.0% of companies based in Singapore will enforce a pay freeze in 2022, significantly lower than the 22% that put in a pay freeze in 2021. He added that the data points to a highly improved outlook for Singapore workers as the economy gradually recovers from Covid-19-related restrictions and uncertainty.
The yearly Salary Trends report analyses current and projected wage increases in over 70 countries and cities worldwide.
Source: ECA International
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