Wages in India to rise by 14.4 pc in 2008

NEW DELHI: The explosive rate of growth in India has created a phenomenal demand for talent so much that wages are forecast to rise by 14.4 per cent during the year 2008, says a latest report.

"Wages are forecast to rise by 14.4 per cent during 2008, the fifth successive year of double-digit growth. This far outstrips wage inflation in China (8.6 per cent in 2007) and is second only to Sri Lanka, where wage growth has been driven by high inflation," global management consultancy firm HayGroup said.

The high level of demand for experienced employees is driving wage inflation and creating a culture of job-hopping. Staff turnover of 20 per cent or more is not unusual in high-demand sectors such as the service industry, as talented workers jump from employer to employer, following the promise of even higher wages.

"Reward programs of companies are in crisis as wage inflation is witnessing an upward spiralling and staff turnover rates hit new highs," the HR consultancy firm said.

"In an environment where employees can achieve a pay rise of between 40 per cent and 50 per cent by moving to a competitor, they are unlikely to stay put," HayGroup added.

In the year 2007, the middle management level witnessed the maximum increase in average annual base salary (16 per cent), while supervisory, senior management and the executive level had an average annual increase of 14 per cent in their base salaries.

The least percentage of increase was witnessed in case of the clerical staff which saw an increase of only 12 per cent in their base salaries, the report added.