News

HR & Education

Staff Reporter

, Singapore

Published:

8 years ago

Check out which sectors can expect the largest pay hikes in 2018

It looks like it doesn’t pay to be in the leisure and hospitality sector.

The pharmaceutical and health sciences sector is expected to witness the highest salary raise of 4.3% next year, according to Willis Tower Watson’s Asia Pacific Salary Budget Planning Report.

Employees in the media sector also have reason to celebrate as they are projected to enjoy 4.1% pay hike next year.

On the other hand, workers in the banking and business support services sector will see the lowest salary increase at around 3% followed by the leisure and hospitality sector at 3.5%.

Overall, Singaporeans can expect to enjoy real wage increases of 2.4%, lower than last year’s 2.7% as inflation kicks in and purchasing power is diminished.

In the regional report, India, China and Vietnam led the pack with the largest expected payhikes in Asia Pacific whilst the more developed markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan are laggards in the lowest overall wage growth.

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia

Top News

Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.06%; Top stock is SATS

SATS is the top stock with a 2.51% increase.

Stocks

4 hours ago

Freight services prices jump 4.5% in Q1 on pricier oil and supply disruptions

Accounting services, cargo, and warehouse storage prices all rose.

Economy

20 hours ago

URA offers two residential sites for sale in Lorong Puntong and Kitchener Link

The Lorong Puntong/ Sin Ming Avenue site's tender closes in September.

Residential Property

20 hours ago

Condo resale prices rise 1.3% in May as volumes drop 9%

May resale activity stayed at 15.4%, below the 5-year average even as prices increased.

Residential Property

20 hours ago

Exclusives

Tsuklio targets dual-income families in Singapore expansion

The Japanese meal subscription platform logged 3,000 pre-registrations before launch.

Food & Beverage

1 day ago

Firms cut senior hiring costs with fractional executives

$Firms cut senior hiring costs with fractional executives$

Firms cut senior hiring costs with fractional executives

Companies report 50% to 70% lower costs than full-time senior hires.

HR & Education

2 days ago

Choosier Asia buyers steer auctions toward rare art

Collectors are bidding harder for works with clear ownership histories.

3 days ago

Big-ticket deals lift Singapore M&A as volumes fall

Private equity and AI infrastructure drive record deal concentration.

Event News

Co-Written / Partner Finweek KL 2026: Where European capital meets ASEAN scale

The premier EU–ASEAN institutional fintech summit brings 1,000+ delegates to PARKROYAL Collection Kuala Lumpur on 11 to 13 November 2026 for three days of cross-border deal-making.