Philippines ranks third in lowest salary hikes

THE PHILIPPINES is the third country with the lowest outlook for salary hikes this year, two foreign recruitment firms said.

The study conducted by India-based recruitment platforms MyHiringClub.com and NriJobPortal.com said the general salary level in the Philippines would increase by 4.21% in 2012, placing third in the list of countries with lowest outlook, next to Bulgaria (4.03%) and Vietnam (4.13%).

Worldwide average

The country’s salary increment outlook is also far below the worldwide average, placed at 10.19%, foreign news organization Emirates 24/7 reported, quoting the study.

The Philippines was followed by its neighboring countries Thailand (5.16%), Malaysia (5.67%) and Indonesia (5.91%). Others on the list with lowest salary increase outlooks were Portugal (6.19%), Austria (6.21%), Norway (6.37%) and Bahrain (6.86%).

Questionable basis

Sought for comment, Vicente R. Leogardo, Jr., director-general of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, said an outlook for salary hikes was questionable.

“There are a lot of things that must be considered. Are we computing based on entry-level wages or not?” Mr. Leogardo said in a phone interview.

“As for the ranking, what is the basis of comparison?” he added.

Mr. Leogardo then pointed out that in terms of minimum wage, the Philippines pays higher compared to other countries in Southeast Asia.

“Our minimum wage rate is higher than that of China, Indonesia, Bangkok, Cambodia or Vietnam,” Mr. Leogardo told BusinessWorld.

According to the study, the ranking was based on comparisons of the total annual cash compensation and remuneration information provided by 5,326 companies in 31 different countries from Dec. 15 to 31, 2011.

Despite the euro zone crisis, European countries dominated the list of countries with the highest expected salary hike this year.

Denmark topped the list with a 16.49% rise in salary. It was followed by Ireland (16.27%), the United Kingdom (16.27%), Switzerland (15.76%), Belgium (15.57%) and Germany (15.45%).

Others on the list were Australia (14.79%), the United States (14.21%), Hong Kong (14.19%) and India (14.03%). — Kim Arveen M. Patria, Businessworld