WTW report: India Inc. is expected to provide a 9.8% pay increase in 2024

 WTW report: India Inc. is expected to provide a 9.8% pay increase in 2024

The industries with the most anticipated wage increases in 2024 are technology, media and gaming, financial services, and retail, with increases of 10%.

According to the most recent wage Budget Planning Report from prestigious international consulting company WTW, the median wage rise in India is probably going to be 9.8% in 2024—quite close to the actual increase of 10% in 2023.

India continues to have the largest compensation growth in Asia Pacific (APAC) despite being a developing economy. Vietnam is expected to have the highest income growth in 2024—8%—followed by China (6%), the Philippines (5.7%), Thailand (5%), and the Philippines (5.7%).

Increased inflation and tighter labor markets have been identified as some of the main factors impacting budget and pay adjustments in 2024. Though a quarter of the firms boosted their budgets from previous forecasts in December 2022, more over half of the enterprises increased their salaries and budgets this year compared to 2022.

The state of the economy, employment, and attrition rates

Additionally, the poll reveals that, in the Q2 of 2023, slightly more than one-third (36%) of the organizations predicted a good company revenue forecast for the next 12 months, up from 42 percent the previous year.

About 28% of businesses want to hire during the next 12 months, and about 60% of businesses have expanded their staff from the previous year in 2023.

In addition, the report lists "hot jobs" that will be hiring in the next 12 months. These include positions in information technology (61 percent), engineering (59.8%), sales (42.9%), technical skills trade (38.6%), finance (11.8%), marketing (10.6%), and human resources (3.1%).

While it has decreased from 15.3 percent in 2022 to 14.6 percent in 2023, India still has one of the highest voluntary attrition rates in the APAC region.

India's sectoral trends

The industries with the most anticipated wage increases in 2024 are technology, media and gaming, financial services, and retail, with increases of 10%. Because of the ongoing need for talent, companies in the financial services, retail, and captive industries have anticipated somewhat bigger rises for 2024 than the actual compensation increase in 2023.

Businesses in all sectors continue to keep a careful eye on their cost structures. Salary increases in the IT industry are predicted to exhibit a discernible reversal, with a projected decrease from 11 to 12 percent in the past to 10 percent by 2024. On the other hand, industries such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, media, gaming, and global captive centers (GCCs) are growing, as seen by their 2024 recruiting plans and wage distributions. Mid-sized businesses, product and platform companies, and the GCCs of financial services corporations are anticipated to continue hiring despite a downturn in IT recruiting, according to Rajul Mathur, consultancy leader for Work and Rewards at WTW India.

WTW's Reward Data Intelligence practice compiles the Salary Budget Planning Report. In 2023, the survey was carried out in April and May. A total of 32,512 sets of answers were sent in by businesses in 150 different nations. There were 708 Indian respondents to the study. 7,372 organizations from 22 marketplaces in Asia Pacific replied.