Malaysian workers expecting larger salary increases in 2022: Report 

• SEA expected to see the fastest rate of salary increase in 2022 vs 2021 
• Salaries for Singapore employees to increase by 2.0% in 2022, up from 1.2% in 2021

Employees in Malaysia are expected to see a real salary increase of 2.8% in 2022, up from a growth of 1.5% this year, according to the latest Salary Trends Report by employee management data and software provider ECA International.

In a statement, the report noted that Southeast Asian (SEA) nations, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, would be among countries expected to see the fastest rate of salary increase next year versus 2021 as their economies recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and international travel resumes.

ECA International Asia regional director Lee Quane said Indonesia and Malaysia were among the countries most impacted by the pandemic and are expected to see some of the biggest jumps in rates of salary growth in Asia-Pacific in 2022, as their respective economies start to return to normality.

“If these countries are able to keep inflation under control in 2022, the improved economic outlook will mean that real salary increase rates for workers in these countries will be some of the highest in the region,” he said.

Real salary growth

As in previous years, the Asia Pacific region is expected to lead the way once again in terms of salary increases for workers with a predicted average real increase of 1.9% across the region, the report indicated. 

This is higher than any other region, with the global real salary increase forecasted to be just 0.9% on average, it noted.

“Although some regions, such as the Americas and Africa and the Middle East, have a higher nominal increase forecasted, the APAC region is predicted to have much lower levels of inflation in 2022.

“This means that once inflation is taken into account, workers in APAC will see a much higher real salary increase than anywhere else in the world,” Quane explained.

The report stated that workers in Singapore will see a higher increase to their salaries in 2022, with expected average salary increases of 3.5%. After factoring inflation, which looks set to remain around the same levels as this year at 1.5%, employees in Singapore will see a real salary increase of 2.0% on average – up from 1.2% this year.

Quane said workers in Singapore are set to see a notably higher increase to their salaries than in previous years, with the predicted 3.5% rise up from 2.8% this year and 2.5% in 2020.

“Similarly, we are forecasting that just 6.0% of companies based in Singapore will implement a pay freeze in 2022, significantly down from the 22% that put in a pay freeze this year.

“This all points to a much-improved outlook for workers in Singapore as the economy gradually recovers from Covid related restrictions and uncertainty,” he added.

Top ten forecast real salary increases – Asia Pacific

The annual Salary Trends report analyses current and projected salary increases in more than 70 countries and cities across the world.