Pay raise in the Philippines next year is expected to be similar to that in 2019, said Mercer recently.
Employees in the Philippines can look forward to a median 5.5% increase in their salaries next year, up from 5.3% this year, according to Mercer’s annual Total Remuneration Survey (TRS) 2022 based on a survey of 447 organisations across 11 industries in the country between April and June this year.
The last time employees received a median 5.5% salary increase was in 2019, Mercer noted.
This return to the pre-pandemic level reflects continued growth among the businesses surveyed amidst a more positive outlook as inflation rate is forecasted to decrease to 4.3% from this year’s high of 5.3%, Mercer said.
The Philippine’s median salary increment is also above the Asia Pacific average of 4.8%, according to the firm.
Across Asia, the overall median salary increases reflect a divergence in pay progression between emerging and developed economies, with estimates as high as 9.1% in India to 2.2% in Japan, the lowest in the region, Mercer observed.
Salary increases are gradually increasing now that business activities in the Philippines are picking up post-pandemic, said Floriza Molon, Mercer’s Career Business Leader for the Philippines.
However, inflation hit a high this year and there was little to no real pay raise in the Philippines, she added.
“The situation will improve for 2023, as the market outlook is forecasted to improve with lower inflation rates,” she said. “Employees will be able to benefit from some real pay raise in the Philippines.”
Increased salary increments across most industries
Across the industries surveyed, shared services is projected to offer the highest salary increment at 6% with high tech (5.8%), life sciences (5.8%) and logistics (5.8%) following closely behind.
Services (non-financial) (5.0%) and chemicals industries (4.6%), on the other hand, are forecasting the lowest salary increments, Mercer said.
