Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm, has announced the findings from its 2024 Salary Increase and Turnover Study for Southeast Asia (SEA). The study, conducted from July to September 2024, analysed the salary adjustments and turnover rates of more than 950 companies across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The survey found that across the entire region, the budgeted salary increases are expected to be higher in 2025 than in 2024. Salary increases are projected at 6.7% for Vietnam, 6.3% for Indonesia, 5.8% for the Philippines, 5.0% for Malaysia, 4.7% for Thailand and 4.4% for Singapore.
Salary increments will also vary across industries in SEA with technology and manufacturing budgeting for the highest salary increases at 5.8%. These are followed by retail; consulting, business and community services; and life sciences and medical devices all at 5.4%. With energy, financial services and transportation at the lower end at 4.9%, 4.8% and 4.1%, respectively.
When overlaid with geography, the technology industry is expected to have the highest increase in Vietnam (7.5%) and Thailand (5.2%), the manufacturing industry in Indonesia (6.9%) and Philippines (6.1%) and the consulting, business and community services sector in Malaysia (5.9%) and Singapore (5.7%).
Rahul Chawla, partner and head of Talent Solutions for Southeast Asia at Aon, said, “According to Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey, failure to attract and retain talent now ranks as the fourth highest risk on the minds of organisations – two years ago this was not even among the top ten risks. Employers today are in an unenviable situation of balancing the rising cost of compensation with the distinct challenge of attracting and retaining top talent.”
“The talent market is dynamic, providing agile firms the opportunity to be proactive in their talent strategies with the help of total reward levers. To be a first mover in this environment, firms need to use real-time data and predictive analytics to understand broader market trends including what roles are in demand, what skills are fetching premiums and where cost-saving opportunities exist,” he added.
The study further revealed that 64% of companies report challenges in hiring or retaining employees, with one in three firms looking to increase headcount between five and 20%. Despite these challenges, organisations are maintaining or increasing overall workforce numbers slightly, by streamlining management layers and focusing on hiring individual contributors to strengthen their teams.
Attrition rate also varies across industries, with the consulting, business and community services industry having the highest rate at 23%, followed by life sciences and medical devices industry at 18.4%, energy at 18.0%, financial services at 17.8%, manufacturing at 16.5%, technology at 15.1% and the retail industry at 11.2%.
The consulting, business and community services industry also had a much higher involuntary turnover rate at 8.9% followed by manufacturing at 4.8%, financial services at 4.2%, technology at 4.0%, life sciences and medical devices industry at 3.4%and retail at 3.2%. This contrasts with 2023 where the retail industry had the highest involuntary turnover at 9.5% while the consulting, business and community services industry and financial services were the lowest at 1.7% and 0.6%, respectively.
Among all industries, the technology sector kept a steady involuntary turnover rate that remained unchanged at 4.0% from 2023 to 2024. Conversely, industries like retail have stabilised as consumer spending improved.
The most difficult positions to fill continue to be in information technology, engineering and sales, which is consistent with 2023. In response to cost constraints and a need for greater cost efficiency, companies are adjusting their compensation strategies. New hire premiums have dropped from previous levels between 5.6 to 13.3% and now range between 1.3 to 8.2%.
One in three firms view cybersecurity roles as crucial to their organisation, with a 160% year-on-year (YOY) increase in headcount for such roles. Artificial Intelligence/machine-learning and risk managers roles had a 100% and 70% YOY increase, respectively. These roles are also seeing double-digit growth in total compensation compared to 2023.
Wan Hua Cheng, director of talent analytics for Southeast Asia at Aon, noted, “Involuntary turnover reflects shifts in skilled and low-wage labour market dynamics. In 2024, managerial levels are experiencing higher involuntary turnover due to reduced demand and economic restructuring. The technology sector, however, remains stable with a consistent involuntary turnover rate, indicating firms’ cautious approach and moderate confidence in future performance. Companies are opting for targeted salary increases as they navigate uncertain times.”
