India Inc's average salary hike expected to be 9.7% in 2019: Survey

Employees working at India Inc can expect an average pay hike of 9.7% for the year 2019, according to Aon, a professional services firm. A better outlook is based on companies expecting a positive economic outlook backed by high economic growth expectation, high domestic demand and low inflation. A decline in voluntary attrition and controlled incremental hiring continue to keep the sentiment mild.

For the last year 2018, the hike has been 9.5%. Aon today released the 23rd edition of its annual Salary Increase Survey in India. The study, the largest and the most comprehensive of its kind in India, analysed data across 1000+ companies from more than 20 industries.

“Pay increases are marginally positive compared to earlier years – a big highlight is the reducing difference in pay increases across industries year on year. A lot of the pay increase decline is also reflected in the constant drop in voluntary attrition levels across industries,” said Anandorup Ghose, Partner and Head Emerging Markets, Aon.


Sectors projecting a double-digit increment have come down over the years with only five sectors projecting a double-digit increment for 2019. These include sectors such as Consumer Internet Companies, Professional Services, Life Sciences, Automotive and Consumer Products.

While India Inc. saw a positive shift in increment percentages, attrition continues to maintain the downward trend. Attrition has declined from 18.5% in 2013 to 15.8% in 2018, indicating blunting the edge of the ‘push’ forces at work.

In order to manage overall pay budgets, companies are re-looking at their hiring strategy and focusing on hiring key skills which will determine the success of the business over the longer term. As digitization becomes the new normal, companies are investing in these niche skills to stay relevant in the changing business scenario.

Ghose added, “Every election year presents a set of interesting dynamics in how companies plan and execute on budgets – we expect this year to be no different.”