India to see 4.7% real wage hike in 2016, highest in 3 years

Workers in India are projected to see a real wage hike of 4.7 per cent in 2016 -- the highest in three years -- while the overall salary increase is expected to be 10.3 per cent, says a report.
Globally, the increase in real wage is expected to be 2.5 per cent, according to Korn Ferry Hay Group 2016 Salary Forecast.
In 2015, India is projected to have seen a real wage increase of 2.1 per cent whereas in 2014, the same stood at just 0.2 per cent.
"The 2015 salary forecast for India stood at 10.5 per cent. For 2016, the forecast is only marginally less at 10.3 per cent," Hay Group India Business Manager, Productized Services, Amer Haleem said in a release today.

"However, at the same time, Indian workers are likely to see the highest real wage increase at 4.7 per cent, compared with 2.1 per cent last year."
Salaries in Asia are forecast to rise 6.4 per cent in 2016 while real wages are expected to increase 4.2 per cent.

In terms of real wage rise, Vietnam is projected to notch up the maximum at 7.3 per cent, followed by China (6.3 per cent) and Thailand (6.1 per cent).
Workers across Europe are set to see an average salary increase of 2.8 per cent in 2016, and with inflation at 0.5 per cent would see real wages rise by 2.3 per cent, the report said.

Philip Spriet, Global Managing Director for Productized Services at Hay Group, said Asia continues to drive growth in wages globally as companies look set to raise wages.
"In emerging economies, upskilling workers is crucial for companies to maintain competitive advantage and those skilled employees can expect to see wages rise as talent shortage in certain regions drives salaries up," Spriet noted.
Average real wage increases are based on 73 countries, excluding Ukraine and Venezuela, where political turmoil and high inflation have led to real wage decreases of 36.8 per cent and 52.6 per cent, respectively.
The 73 countries are part of the Hay Group's database.