Hays unveils 2025 Asia Salary Guide - latest China recruitment trends, salary benchmarks and more

 

The guide compiles salary overviews based on real data contributed by working professionals and experts across 15 different specialisms including engineering, life sciences and technology. The guide also analyses labour market trends such as staffing levels, job mobility insights and top Employee Value Propositions across Asia.

 

 

2024 marked a year of uncertainty, during which organisations had to balance a need to streamline headcounts with ongoing skill shortages brought about by disruptive technology such as AI and automation. As at the time of this survey, confidence levels among working professionals and leaders in Asia remain cautious, with 41 per cent of respondents expressing pessimism over the economic climate for the next two to five years.

 

Sentiments around future economic growth were most negative in China (63 per cent) followed by Japan (56 per cent) and Hong Kong SAR (41 per cent). In contrast, Southeast Asia showed higher levels of optimism, led by Malaysia (30 per cent) and followed by Thailand (27 per cent) and Singapore (22 per cent).

 

Even so, headcount projections show a modest increase, with 46 per cent of organisations in Asia planning to grow their workforce in 2025, compared to 44 per cent in 2024. This increase was most prevalent in Japan, with 56 per cent of organisations expecting to increase headcount this year – a 10 per cent increase from 2024.

 

This comes in response to increasing concern over critical skill gaps within the workforce. 62 per cent of organisations in Asia experienced moderate to extreme skill shortages in 2024. Of these, Japan and Thailand both faced the most trouble with talent deficits (71 per cent).

“Businesses are signalling a willingness to address these shortages this year; 27 per cent of organisations chose employee recruitment as a HR investment focus in 2025,” said Marc Burrage, Managing Director for Hays Asia. “A further 32 per cent were committed to improving employee retention, underlining a need to reduce lost knowledge, hiring expenses and missed revenue opportunities.”

 

 

Organisations have cause to be concerned over turnover. While the economic downturn of 2024 saw more working professionals prioritising job security, that sentiment has shifted for 2025. 44 per cent of professionals in China are looking, or are planning to look for a new job this year, almost double the number of professionals who switched jobs in 2024 (26 per cent).

 

Even so, professionals in China displayed the lowest inclination to change careers this year compared to the rest of Asia, which averages at 55 per cent. Professionals in Japan were most likely to leave their current workplace (66 per cent) followed by Malaysia (62 per cent) and Thailand (61 per cent).

 

When pressed on their reasons to leave, 49 per cent of professionals in China highlighted a lack of future opportunities at their current workplace, up from 45 per cent in 2024. These were followed by low salary (40 per cent),

a lack of job security (27 per cent), and a desire for greater challenges in their roles (17 per cent).

 

“Working professionals in Asia are more motivated than ever to find upward mobility in their careers. Leaders need to rethink their approach to leadership pipelines, upskilling programs, and internal mobility, ensuring they offer clear pathways to advancement that today’s workforce demands,” said Marc.

 

Meanwhile, their expectations for increments remain conservative. In the next 12 months, the majority of candidates across Asia expect increments of ‘between 2.5 to 5 per cent’ (30 per cent), followed by no change in salary (22 per cent), and finally ‘increase by up to 2.4 per cent’ (17 per cent). 

 

These align closely to organisational projections, with most hiring managers expecting to give increments ‘between 2.5 and 5 per cent’ (34 per cent), followed by ‘increase by up to 2.4 per cent (23 per cent) and finally no change in salary (23 per cent).

 

 

Conversely, work environments in China appear to be returning to a pre-2020 normal. In 2024, only 38 per cent of working professionals continued to enjoy flexible working arrangements, with a majority of them having transitioned back to a fully on-site model, the highest such occurrence in Asia. In comparison, 46 per cent of employers in Hong Kong SAR continued to enjoy flexible work arrangements, while employers in Singapore were most likely to offer hybrid work options (66 per cent).

 

Professionals are largely willing to accept this change, with only 33 per cent citing flexible working arrangements as an important Employer Value Proposition (EVP) to them, surpassed by ‘excellent compensation and benefits’ (65 per cent) and ‘clear goals and direction from senior leadership’ (53 per cent). Only 38 per cent consider flexible working as a valuable benefit, with 51 per cent preferring ‘Additional vacation days’ and 39 per cent selecting ‘Health insurance or private medical cover’.

 

"Flexible work has been largely superseded by cultural norms in China, where a traditional office presence is still highly valued. Leaders may wish to revisit their attraction and retention strategies, to ensure they continue to align with the needs of working professionals today," said Marc.

 

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

 

 

 

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.