But low wage growth is also prompting workers to proactively seek higher pay
Despite sluggish wage growth in Australia, four in five employers (82%) are reporting plans of raising pay in 2020 – with one industry expecting to see an even bigger increase than most.
Retail workers will likely be given a 10%+ increase, according to more than a tenth of employers in the sector, as surveyed by recruitment firm Adecco Group.
The findings suggest the retail industry is aiming to maintain its talent base even as competition from online retailers continues to intensify and threaten jobs at physical outlets.
Meanwhile, employers from the business services, finance, real estate, education and non-profit sectors are also purportedly planning to hike pay.
READ MORE: Wage growth in Australia still slow
The majority of businesses aiming for an increase in 2020 are looking at a pay raise of less than 3%, as seen in the data from Adecco Group:
- 45% of employers are targeting an increase of less than 3%
- 27% – increase of 3% to 7%
- 6% – increase of 7% to 10%
- 4% – increase of more than 10%
But while employers in Australia are poised to reward workers with increases to keep them satisfied, low wage growth is also prompting employees to proactively seek higher remuneration.
IT workers are said to be the most confident when asking their boss for a raise; they are followed by employees in manufacturing, business services, real estate and mining, Adecco Group noted.
READ MORE: Why does Australia have such low wage growth?
“In the current economic climate, open dialogue and transparency around salary increase expectations could be worth considering for many employers,” said Adecco Group CEO Rafael Moyano.
“Any entrenched mismatches in salary increase expectations over the next few years could lead to increasing dissatisfaction among workers and lead to raised attrition rates for companies,” he said.
Overall, however, only 77% of employees this year are anticipating a pay increase, compared to 94% in 2019, Adecco Group found.
