Employees in Malaysia are expected to see a real salary increase of 2.2% in 2023, in comparison to a growth of 1.6% this year. Revealed in the latest Salary Trends Report by employee management data and software provider ECA International, Malaysia is also listed as one of the top ten countries expected to see the most increase in real salaries in 2023.

In a statement, ECA International said that its list of predicted real salary increase for 2023 is headed by the following 10 countries, with a majority of them being Asian nations:

• India (4.6%)
• Vietnam (4.0%)
• China (3.8%)
• Brazil (3.4%)
• Saudi Arabia (2.3%)
• Malaysia (2.2%)
• Cambodia (2.2%)
• Thailand (2.2%)
• Oman (2.0%)
• Russia (1.9%)

To note, real salary – or actual income – is defined as the actual amount that you earn after accounting for inflation. In other words, it’s the nominal wage growth minus the rate of inflation.

ECA International also noted that the soaring global inflation that is currently happening is set to negatively affect salary increases in many countries for the second year running. “Our survey indicates another tough year for workers globally in 2023. Only around a third of the countries surveyed (37%) are forecasted to see real-terms salary increase, though this is better than the 22% that experienced increases this year,” said the regional director of Asia for ECA International, Lee Quane, who added that average salaries also fell by 3.8% in 2022.

Additionally, ECA International forecasted that Europe will likely be hit worst by the effects of stagnated salary growth next year, with real salaries driven down by an average of 1.5%. Employees in the UK, too, have already suffered a massive hit in 2022; despite a 3.5% average nominal pay increase, the 9.1% average inflation caused real salaries to fall 5.6%. In 2023, they may dip by another 4%.

Meanwhile, the United States is expected to recover slightly in 2023. Employees in the country saw a 4.5% drop in real salaries in 2022, but this is expected to be reversed by falling inflation next year. This, in effect, translates to an expected 1% real salary increase.

ECA International’s latest Salary Trends Report is compiled based on information collected from more than 360 multinational companies in 68 countries and cities, between August to September 2022. It has been carried out since 2000.

(Sources: ECA International, The Edge Markets)

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