Indians may soon need to buy bigger wallets.

Hewitt Associates, the global human resources services firm, says that Indians got the highest salary hikes in 2004 and the trend is likely to continue in 2005 too.

The Annual Asia-Pacific Salary Increase Survey by Hewitt Associates' says that due to the economic upswing in Asia, employers in the region are reporting a more positive outlook in terms of salary increases in 2004.

India demonstrated the highest average salary increase in 2004, followed by China, the Philippines, and Korea.

"Considering the global attention drawn by India, the Philippines and China, it is not surprising to see the highest salary increases in these countries," said Mick Bennett, Hewitt's Managing Director for Asia-Pacific, in a media release.

IT pros get the lion's share

In India, the information technology industry witnessed the highest average salary increase at 14.5 per cent, and 89 per cent of participating companies link salary increases to performance ratings.

The highest average increase was awarded to employees at professional/supervisory/technical level.

Not surprisingly, employees in China continued to enjoy average salary increases ranging from 6.4 per cent to 8.4 per cent in 2004.

China, Philippines, Korea follow

Hot on China's heels came the Philippines, which boasted 7.4 per cent to 7.7 per cent increases; and Korea with 6.4 per cent to 6.8 per cent increases.

For the US market, salary increases remained at a record low in 2004, but are expected to improve slightly in 2005. Projections show slightly higher with estimates of 3.6 per cent for salaried exempt employees, 3.5 per cent for salaried non-exempt employees, 3.5 per cent for non-union hourly workers and 3.8 per cent for executives.

While Hong Kong's economy has picked up, this has yet to translate into pay with salary increases ranging from 1.3 per cent to 2 per cent.

Singapore's vibrant economy yielded average salary increases of 3.2 per cent to 3.7 per cent. Salaries also rose in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand.

A strong outlook for 2005

The outlook for increases in 2005 looks even stronger with employers saying they are more confident about the direction of the economy than they were this time last year.

Survey respondents in all countries projected greater salary increases for 2005, albeit minimal.

More notably, however, there has been a stark reduction in the number of companies projecting pay freezes for 2005.

Of survey participants in India, Australia, China, Malaysia and Singapore, none anticipate a salary freeze in the year to come.

Only 3 per cent of respondents in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand expect a salary freeze; and only 1 per cent in Korea. Only 6 per cent of employers in Hong Kong anticipate a salary freeze in 2005, which is a considerable drop from last year, in which 31 per cent of participating companies recorded a salary freeze.

Attrition, too, highest in India

The greatest personnel turnover was reported in India, where the average overall turnover rate was as high as 15.4 per cent. Other markets with high turnover rates include Australia (15.1 per cent), China (12.6 per cent), and Hong Kong (12.1 per cent).

High attrition rates continue to be an issue in Asia, and the average overall turnover rate among respondents in most markets surveyed has risen on last year from approximately 10 per cent to just over 12 per cent.

Hewitt surveyed more than 1,000 foreign, locally owned, and joint venture companies in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

The study measured actual and projected salary increases, and compensation practices for five specific job categories, namely senior/top management, manager, professional/technical/supervisory, clerical/support, and manual workers.