Average salary hike in 2022 to be 8.6%: Survey – Times of India

BENGALURU: Bengaluru: The average salary increment in India is expected to be 8.6% in 2022, buoyed by improved business confidence, says Deloitte’s Workforce and Increment Trends survey. The increments match the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. A quarter of the companies surveyed have projected a double-digit hike.
The survey found that 92% of companies gave an average hike of 8% in 2021, compared with only 4.4% in 2020. Only 60% of companies had extended a pay hike last year.
Deloitte’s latest report surveyed over 450 organisations across seven sectors and 24 subsectors.
Anandorup Ghose, partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, said, “While most companies are projecting a higher increment in 2022 compared to 2021, we continue to operate in an environment where Covid-19 related uncertainty persists, making it harder for companies to forecast. Some of the survey respondents have also just closed their 2021 increment cycle, so 2022 increments are a fair distance away for them. GDP forecasts for FY 2021-22 were revised down after the second wave and we expect organisations to closely watch similar developments while managing their fixed cost increases next year.”
The IT sector is expected to offer the highest increments, followed by the life sciences sector. The IT industry is seeing a strong demand from global customers who are embracing digital technologies more than ever before.
Some digital / e-commerce players are also planning to give good increments. Retail, hospitality, restaurants, infrastructure, and real estate companies continue to project some of the lowest increments in line with their business dynamics.
Organisations continue to differentiate pay increases by skills and performance. Anubhav Gupta, partner in Deloitte India, said top performers can expect about 1.8 times the increments given to average performers. “Going forward, specific increment differentiation may become more prevalent as attrition rates vary significantly across different skills. Compensation is usually one of the top reasons for attrition, particularly at a junior management level, where virtual hiring has made it easier to jump ships,” he said.