Korn Ferry sees 3.6% rise in real wages in 2019

Bonuses for the construction sector are expected to be amongst the highest in 2019 at 2.8 months.

KUALA LUMPUR: Real wages in Malaysia are expected to grow by 3.6 per cent in 2019, a slight increase from 3.5 per cent predicted last year, adjusted for an inflation rate of 1.4 per cent, according to the Korn Ferry 2019 Salary Forecast.

The forecast issued on Thursday said all sectors surveyed are expected to see an increase in median base salaries, with the telecommunications and media sector predicted to see the highest increase in 2019, up 0.4 per cent to 6.0 per cent.

“The insurance and oil and gas sectors are expected to see the smallest increase in median base salaries, up 0.2 per cent from 5.4 and 4.2 per cent respectively.

‘The industrial products sector is the only exception as median base salaries are predicted to decrease by 0.2 per cent to 4.9 per cent,” it said.

Meanwhile, country manager of products Halim Ariff said the company has observed that most organisations are taking a ‘wait and see' approach.

“Signs of economic contractions are everywhere and therefore organisations are being a bit cautious in allocating bigger amounts of increment to their employees,” he said.

Halim said variable bonus payment trends are also expected to decrease, averaging 2.1 months in 2019 as compared to an average of 2.3 months in 2018.

“Bonuses for the construction sector are expected to be amongst the highest in 2019 at 2.8 months, while bonuses for employees in the consumer goods and services sector is expected to remain amongst the lowest at 1.9 months,” he said.

On average, senior and middle management are expected to see the largest decrease in variable bonus payments, down 0.6 month and 0.5 month respectively, while clerical staff are expected to see an increase of 0.2 months.
Bonuses of junior professionals are likely to remain at an average of 2.0 months in 2019.

“With the optimism of growth remaining relatively low, we would recommend that companies review remuneration cost drivers so that it is consistent with the changing business environment and market conditions,” he added.- Bernama