Job switches to fetch smaller salary hikes to tech talent, says report

The average salary hike on new jobs has fallen from 54 per cent in July and August to 45 per cent in September and 37 per cent in October

Job switches may not fetch hikes of 100 per cent to tech talent in India anymore. However, new jobs may still fetch them a 30-35 per cent jump in salaries, a report in Economic Times (ET) said. 

The average salary hike in new jobs has fallen from 54 per cent in July and August to 45 per cent in September and 37 per cent in October, the report said. Currently, it is around 35 per cent and will come down in the coming months. 

"Frenzied salary hikes for job switches over the last two years have come down to pre-Covid levels with the decline in business. This has worsened with startups — and now big tech companies — opting for hiring freeze and layoffs due to economic slowdown and feared recession," Aditya Mishra, chief executive of CIEL HR Services told ET. 

"New salary hikes have petered down to conservative percentages of 25-35 per cent," Ratna Gupta, senior director, of ABC Consultants told ET. 

In 2021, candidates were offered big salary hikes, sometimes as high as 100 per cent. The candidates were "calling the shots". 

The demand and supply for jobs in the tech sector have fallen due to geopolitical and macroeconomic factors, including the Ukraine war and fear of recession. 

"Compared to last year, we have seen compensation expectations of talent go down and are a little more realistic. Leaders from listed tech companies where RSUs (restricted share units) are almost 50-60 per cent of the overall CTC (cost to company) are ready to take marginal cuts for the right opportunity and equity," Ashish Sanganeria, senior partner at another HR firm Transearch India, said.