NEW DELHI, November 1, 2023 — The median salary increase in India is forecasted to rise by 9.8% in 2024, close to the actual salary increase of 10% in 2023. That’s according to WTW’s latest Salary Budget Planning Report by leading global advisory, broking and solutions company WTW’s (NASDAQ: WTW).
The report looks at a range of job grades across various industry sectors and summaries the findings of WTW’s annual survey on salary movement and reviews HR practices as a means of helping companies with their compensation planning for 2024 and beyond.
| Year | Projected salary increase | Actual salary increase |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 9.8% | |
| 2023 | 9.8% | 10.0% |
| 2022 | 9.3% | 9.8% |
| 2021 | 7.0% | 8.5% |
| 2020 | 10.0% | 7.5% |
Being an emerging market, salary increases in India continue to be the highest across Asia Pacific (APAC). The 2024 salary increase for Vietnam is projected at 8%, followed by China at 6%, Philippines at 5.7% and Thailand at 5%.
Tighter labour markets and rising inflation have been cited as some of the major concerns influencing salary increase budget changes for 2024. However, compared to 2022, more than half of the companies have increased their salary increase budgets this year, while a quarter have increased their budgets from earlier projections in December 2022.
The survey also shows that slightly more than one-third (36%) of the companies have projected a positive business revenue outlook for the next 12 months in Q2-2023 compared to 42% in Q22022. In terms of hiring, almost 28% of companies plan to recruit in the next 12 months while about 60% companies have increased headcount in 2023 as compared to the previous year. The report also identifies ‘hot jobs’ for recruitment in the next 12 months, namely roles in Information Technology (61%), Engineering (59.8%), Sales (42.9%), Technical Skills Trade (38.6%), Finance (11.8%), Marketing (10.6%) and Human Resources (3.1%).
Voluntary attrition rate in India has gone down from 15.3% in 2022 to 14.6% in 2023 although it is still one of the highest among the APAC markets.
Technology, Media and Gaming, Financial Services and Retail sectors are expected to see the highest salary increase at 10% in 2024. Companies in the Financial Services, Retail sectors and Captive setups have projected marginally higher increases for 2024 as compared to the actual salary increase in 2023 due to the continued talent demand.
Rajul Mathur, Consulting Leader, Work and Rewards, WTW India said “Companies across industries are still closely monitoring their cost structures. Within the IT sector, a noticeable correction is expected with salary increments reducing from approximately 11 to 12% in the past to a projected 10% for 2024. In contrast, sectors like Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Media, Gaming, and Global Captive Centers (GCCs) are expanding and this is evident from their hiring plans and salary allocations for 2024. Despite a slowdown in IT recruitment, mid-sized companies, product and platform firms, and the GCCs of Financial Services companies are expected to continue to hire.”
The Salary Budget Planning Report is compiled by WTW’s Reward Data Intelligence practice. The survey was conducted in April and May 2023. Approximately 32,512 sets of responses were received from companies across 150 countries worldwide. The survey had 708 participants from India. In Asia Pacific, 7,372 organisations from 22 markets responded.
At WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), we provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of our colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, we help organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance.
Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we uncover opportunities for sustainable success—and provide perspective that moves you.
