'Organisations are willing to invest heavily in skilled professionals who can drive innovation and growth in the AI space'
The salary budget increase rate in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to remain relatively stable in 2025, according to the latest Salary Budget Planning Report from WTW.
The report, which polled 1,788 organisations in APAC, found that the projected salary budget increase rate for 2025 is 5.8%.
This is slightly higher than the 5.7% recorded in 2024 but remains lower than the actual salary increase rate of 5.9% in 2023.
The markets expecting the highest salary increase rate in 2025 are India (9.5%), Indonesia (6.4%), and Vietnam (7.6%), which also registered the highest actual salary increases in 2024.
Edward Hsu, Rewards Data Intelligence Leader, International and Asia Pacific, WTW, said most markets in APAC are expecting higher GDP growth rates in 2024, fostering a positive economic outlook.
"As a result, organisations are expecting stable or increased salary increase rates next year. However, we are also seeing variations across markets with shifting priorities by companies affecting salary budgets," Hsu said in a statement.
Impact of digitalisation on APAC salaries
The WTW leader also underscored the impact of digitalisation on workplaces in relation to compensation.
According to Hsu, tech roles, such as those in AI and machine learning, are seeing double-digit salary growth in many markets.
"The transformation potential of AI has made it the most sought-after technology discipline in the global talent market. As such, organisations around the world are willing to invest heavily in skilled professionals who can drive innovation and growth in the AI space, giving companies the upper hand in today's competitive business environment," he said.
"As AI and other technologies become more prevalent, employers need to consider how they can leverage these for their business, and whether they ought to train their workforce for it or recruit digital talent to facilitate digital transformation."
