Salaries in Malaysia to rise 5% in 2025?

Salaries in Malaysia are projected to increase by 5% across all industries in 2025. Industries like energy and shared services are leading in base salary offerings, said human resources consulting firm Mercer. The talent market is competitive, with 70% of Malaysian companies intending to adjust their remuneration strategies in 2025. The survey involved more than 680 companies in Malaysia, in industries including technology, consumer goods, manufacturing, retail, chemical, life sciences, retail and wholesale, energy, and shared services. The survey was conducted between April and June 2024.

 

Source: https://www.wikiimpact.com

The projected salary increase for 2025 in Mercer’s survey matches the rate in 2024’s budget. The expected pay increment in Malaysia is lower than the 6.1% rise in Indonesia, but higher than Singapore’s 3.8% rate.

Hiring intentions, however, have weakened compared to 2023, with most of the companies surveyed planning to keep their headcount levels steady. Only 24% of respondents plan to expand their workforce.

“Growth jobs” such as in cloud computing, electrical instrumentation and control engineering are seeing salary growth alongside rising demand, the firm said. Roles such as those in cybersecurity architecture, project controls engineers, and enterprise architects command a premium in pay, highlighting “increasing value placed on specialised skills in a competitive environment,” Mercer noted.  

The pressure on businesses is to match expectations. Costs going up is fine, if revenue and productivity are also up.

In the current urban setting, many are struggling with cost of living issues. Food items over last 10 years increased 20-25%; healthcare is up by 30-40% while transport costs will increase with removal of RON95 subsidy. The official inflation rate of 1.8% is not reflective of daily issues faced by employees. Wages move “tortoise” like while prices have moved “hare” like! In 2022, there were periods of inflation at 7% p.a.  For now, it may be good for employees to be rewarded 5-10% increase in wages, just to meet cost of living issues.

Reference:

Salaries in Malaysia to rise 5% across all industries in 2025, survey shows, Kong Zhi Ann / theedgemalaysia.com, 10 Dec 2024