Top five sectors to witness a salary increase in 2016

NEW DELHI: India is entering the era of the 'new normal' in salary increases, announced Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions division of Aon Plc. The 20th edition of its Annual Salary Increase Survey in India has projected an average of 10.3 per cent salary increase across sectors for 2016.

It added that India's status quo in salary increase in last five years shows the sign of market maturity and a cautious approach to stay competitive in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Though there is nothing great projected for Indian firms this year, with business outlook also witnessing a marginal dip, there is still a reason to celebrate for some of the sectors.

The top 5 sectors: Startups top the chart in terms of salary increase with a projection of 15.6%, followed by life sciences (11.6%), entertainment media (11.2%), Hi-tech (10.8%) and consumer products (10.8%).

The survey collected data from 700 organizations between December 2015 and January 2016. Most manufacturing industries projected a drop in increments for 2016, while services sector has given a positive outlook.

The laggards include cement (9.8%), transportation (9.7%), telecom (9.7%), metal (9.3%) and financial institutions (8.8%).

The survey also shows a dip in salary increase in both India and China among the APAC region. Another significant finding of the survey is the attrition rate which has plunged to 16.3%, lowest in five years since the 2009 financial crisis.

The survey further said that investing in key talent has emerged as a major trend. Also, in the last five years, the percentage of employees with top performance rating has dropped by close to 30%, implying that organisations do not shy from differentiating on the basis of performance and are allocating the share of the total increased budget accordingly.