Working professionals in China least likely to receive a raise this year among Asian countries surveyed

 

The survey conducted by Hays across six weeks in late 2024 gathered insights from 3,670 hiring managers regarding expected changes in salaries or rates of pay within their organisations. Additionally, 8,790 skilled professionals were queried about their remuneration expectations for the year, including anticipated changes, satisfaction with pay, and whether they felt their salaries aligned with their responsibilities.

 

 

Despite cautious pessimism about the broader economic climate, sentiments around salary are showing signs of improvement. Fewer professionals in Asia can expect to encounter no change in their salaries this year, down from 29 per cent in 2024 to 23 per cent.

 

Professionals can also anticipate fewer pay cuts this year, down from seven per cent last year to six per cent in 2025.

 

Conversely, most employers in Asia (34 per cent) expect to provide salary increments of between 2.5 per cent to five per cent, consistent with last year’s rate. Notably, organisations are increasingly committed to rewarding key talent on a higher scale, with 10% of hiring managers planning to offer raises between 6 per cent and 10 per cent, nearly double from last year (six per cent).

 

 

While the outlook in China has improved from 2024, expectations surrounding salary remain muted. Only 56 per cent of professionals in China can expect to receive a raise this year, trailing behind Japan (70 per cent) and Singapore (75 per cent). Additionally, 31 per cent of professionals can expect no change to their salaries in 2025, while 13 per cent may face pay cuts from employers.

 

These figures closely align with professionals' expectations for salary changes this year, with 42 per cent indicating they do not expect a raise. However, expectations for raises are higher compared to 2024, when only 49 per cent of organisations provided increments to staff.

 

“63 per cent of respondents in China expressed a lack of optimism for the upcoming economic climate, the highest rate in Asia,” said Sue Wei, Managing Director at Hays Greater China. “Even so, there is optimism that there are brighter times ahead, reflected by desires to reduce stagnant salaries and provide increments where possible.”

 

 

Despite lower-than-average rates of increment, professionals appear to be satisfied with their current earnings. 56 per cent of respondents noted that they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their salaries, a higher percentage compared to professionals in Malaysia (55 per cent) and Japan (42 per cent). 54 per cent also felt that their current pay aligns with their responsibilities, just behind Thailand which leads in Asia at 56 per cent.

 

When investigating motivations to stay in the workplace, professionals in China were least likely to stay due to remuneration levels compared to other locations in Asia. Only 21 per cent of respondents admitted to staying for their salary package, significantly lower than the Asian average of 34 per cent. Instead, professionals scored other career considerations highly, with ‘good job security’ coming out on top at 37 per cent, the highest in Asia.

 

“There is a strong culture emphasising ‘harmony at work’ in China that supersedes salary considerations among professionals today. Apart from good job security, 27 per cent of professionals chose to stay at organisations where they experienced good fit with managers and colleagues, and a further 27 per cent did so because they felt the company’s values and culture aligned with their own,” says Sue.

 

However, only 39 per cent of working professionals in China felt ‘somewhat secure’ or ‘very secure’ about their current job positions, lower compared to professionals in Hong Kong SAR (50 per cent). 27 per cent were ‘somewhat insecure’ or ‘very insecure’ while 33 per cent were neutral about their current position.

 

“With competing employers being the top reason for skill shortages in China today, it is critical for leaders to assess employee sentiments regarding their employment and address concerns to prevent turnover. Be sure to conduct pulse surveys to get a real-time feel of your workforce and stay transparent by fostering open communication about your organisation’s health and future plans with your employees,” says Sue.

 

A copy of the 2025 Hays Asia Salary Guide is available here.

 

 

 

For more information contact:
Bill Wang
Bill.wang@hays.cn 

 

 

Hays Specialist Recruitment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is one of China's leading recruitment companies in recruiting qualified, professional, and skilled people across a wide range of industries and professions. 
  
Hays has been in China for over a decade with operational offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, and Guangzhou. We boast a track record of success and growth, dealing in permanent positions and workforce solutions such as recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Programmes (MSP) across 14 different specialisms, including Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Technology, Engineering, Human Resources, Legal, Life Sciences, Marketing & Digital, Office Professionals, Procurement, Supply Chain and Sales. We continue to strengthen our position in Asia with the world-leading ISO 9001:2015 certification in all our operational markets including China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. 

 

 

Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, such as RPO and MSP. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional, and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany, and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As of 30 June 2024, the Group employed over 11,100 staff operating from 236 offices in 33 countries. For the year ended 30 June 2024:

 

– the Group reported net fees of £1,113.6 million and operating profit of £105.1 million.
– the Group placed around 57,700 candidates into permanent jobs and around 225,000 people into temporary roles.
– 13% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 32% in Germany, 20% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 35% in Rest of World (RoW).
– the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees.
– Technology is the Group’s largest division, with 25% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Engineering (11%), are the next largest.
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, the UK, and the USA.