Hays sees salary rises moderating this year in China

Salary increases are expected to moderate this year in China, with professionals from industries associated with industrial upgrade and transformation being the sole exception to the rule, a new survey said.

According to the latest salary guide released by global recruitment specialist Hays, 44 percent of the surveyed employers plan to offer salary hikes of 3 to 6 percent this year. The survey, which tracked responses of 1,700 employers from 17 industries in China, said 35 percent of the employers were willing to offer pay hikes in excess of 6 percent. Both trends, however, are significantly lower than the 6 to 10 percent hikes that most of the employers were planning to offer last year.

Simon Lance, managing director of Hays Greater China, said the hike, though slightly lower this year, is still higher than other markets in Asia.

About 49 percent of the interviewed employers said they will increase their permanent staff this year, slightly up from the 47 percent registered in 2018. Another 15 percent said they will downsize their companies' permanent head count this year, while the number was 18 percent a year ago.

As Lance explained, small and medium-sized enterprises in the private sector are likely to account for the most layoffs this year, which is largely due to the difficulty in financing. Some larger companies will downsize their head count this year as they may have expanded faster than they should over the past few years, he said.

But Lance stressed that there is still strong underlying business confidence in the Chinese market, which will fuel ongoing demand for top talents in the highly skilled industries associated with technology innovation, industry automation, digitalization, and the boom in domestic consumption.

The market has shown huge demand for artificial intelligence professionals, and thus their salary increase will be around 35 percent this year. Even fresh graduates with a bachelor's degree can make between 300,000 yuan ($44,827) to 500,000 yuan a year. Candidates with AI know-how can see their incomes go up by at least 50 percent if they opt for jobs in other industries.

Ji Xiaochen, founder of Beijing Moviebook Technology, which provides AI technology to entertainment companies, said it will double the company's headcount this year as it is the key expansion period for the AI industry.

Due to the rapidly growing aging population in the country, there will be greater demand for life science researchers and scientists this year, said Hays. Professionals in junior and middle management positions will see their salaries go up by 20 to 30 percent this year, while those of data management specialists will rise to percent.

While China is accelerating the manufacturing industry's shift from labor-intensive to high-end manufacturing, sectors such as semiconductors have sped up their development by applying AI in chips. Therefore, candidates with chip design experience can get salary increments of above 50 percent this year, according to Hays.

"Business leaders should evaluate their readiness to train talent and consider involving more specialists in their automation and AI strategies," said Lance.