10.5% salary rise expected across industries in 2016: Survey

Salaries are likely to increase by 10.5 percent across levels and industries this year mainly due to optimistic economic outlook, a survey has said. "Organisations are expecting to increase base salaries by 10.5 percent across industries and career levels in 2016," according to Mercer's 'All Industries Total Remuneration Survey', released. The salary increase forecast for 2016 is quite similar to the actual salary increase for 2015. Among the industries surveyed, the projected salary increase ranges from 10-11 percent overall, with relatively higher increases for Life sciences, IT and Chemical industries. Over the years, salary increase differentiation across industries has narrowed down but there is considerable pressure on talent retention as budgets remain tight, it added. "The current pay increase points toward an optimistic economic outlook driving positive sentiment, with companies expecting to increase their headcount. The salary forecasts are the lowest for Consumer, Auto and Shared Services, seeing a dip in salary projections for 2016. Firms in India are assertive of their growth plans and will continue to hire, especially engineers and computer science experts," Mercer Principal and India TRS Product Leader Ruchika Pal said. The survey revealed that 48 percent of these companies are expecting to increase their head count.

In 2016, one in two companies are planning to increase head count with Hi-tech, Shared Services and Life sciences leading the pack. The comprehensive survey represents 691 organisations across various industry sectors.