Double-digit salary hike! Survey says salaries in India likely to rise by this much in 2023

Corporate India is bullish about its strong business performance and expected to dole out a double-digit salary hike of as much as 10.4 per cent in 2023, a survey said on Monday.

According to leading global professional services firm Aon Plc's latest Salary Increase Survey in India, remunerations in India are expected to increase by 10.4 per cent in 2023, compared to an actual increase of 10.6 per cent to date in 2022, which is slightly higher than the 9.9 per cent increase projected in February.

The study that analysed data across 1,300 companies from more than 40 industries in India noted that the attrition rate for the first half of 2022 continued to be high at 20.3 per cent, marginally lower than the 21 per cent recorded in 2021, thus retaining the pressure on salaries.

This trend is expected to continue for the next few months, the survey noted.

"Despite the global recessionary headwinds and volatile domestic inflation, salary increases projected in India for 2023 are in the double digits," Roopank Chaudhary, partner, Human Capital Solutions at Aon in India, said.

This increase is a reflection of the confidence that corporate India has in its strong business performance.

"Business leaders, however, must make decisions that ensure their workforce remains resilient today as well as into the future. They need to review their total rewards strategies and balance the impact of rising costs and salary pressures with a relatively high rate of attrition and the ongoing demand for critical talent," Chaudhary added.

The survey also found that four out of the five sectors that are expected to have the highest projected salary increase are technology related and experience the highest volatility and impact of current global economic uncertainty.

"With an expected salary increase of 12.8 per cent, e-commerce leads sectors with the highest projected increase, followed by start-ups at 12.7 per cent, hi-tech/ information technology and information technology-enabled services at 11.3 per cent, and financial institutions at 10.7 per cent," Chaudhary added.

According to Jang Bahadur Singh, director, Human Capital Solutions at Aon in India, volatility is a key determinant of salary increases by industries ? the top salary increases are in the most volatile industries.

"As the broader economic circumstances impact the talent landscape, businesses must create holistic rewards strategies unique to their situation and sector to retain and attract the talent they need.

"Data-driven insights give employers the clarity and confidence needed to make better decisions and build a resilient workforce across sectors," Singh noted.