Pay may go up in India, but there's a rider

NEW DELHI: NEW DELHI: India is likely to see the highest salary growth in Asia at 9.2% in 2020 followed by Indonesia at 8.1% and China at 6%, according to the Korn Ferry Global salary forecast. While countries like Japan and Taiwan in Asia are likely to see the lowest salary growth of 2% and 3.9%, respectively. But when adjusted to the inflation, the real-wage in India is anticipated to be constant at 5%.

“India has posted a strong growth despite real wages taking a hit globally. With our current economic scenario and progressive reforms by the government, there is a sense of cautious optimism across sectors in India that continues to show high salary increments,” Rajiv Krishnan, managing director, Korn Ferry Advisory India said.

According to the forecast, salaries are predicted to grow at a rate of approximately 4.9% globally in 2020. With a global inflation rate prediction of about 2.8%, the real-wage salary increase prediction is at 2.1%, the company shared in a release.

“India’s projected average salary increment has seen an average growth of 9.2% for 2020 and with low inflation, the real wage increased at 5.1%, which is amongst the highest globally,” Roopank Chaudhary, Associate Client Partner – Korn Ferry India, said.

In North America, the average salary growth is predicted to be 2.8% in 2020, which is the same as last year but when adjusted for inflation, the real-wage growth is expected to be 1.1%.

According to the Korn Ferry forecast, employees in Eastern Europe are set to see an average salary increase of 6.2% in 2020. After taking inflation into account, real wages are forecast to rise by 2.6%.

In Western Europe, the employees are expected to see an average increase of 2.5% and inflation-adjusted real wage increases of 1.2%.

But the Korn Ferry pay experts recommend taking a holistic approach when determining pay. “While inflation indices are a solid benchmark for reviewing market trends in pay, we recommend that companies take a broader perspective by defining and agreeing upon their own measures,” says Benjamin Frost, Korn Ferry Global General Manager - Pay.