KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): Malaysians could see a 5% pay raise coming their way this year, slightly lower from 6% in 2018, according to the latest study by Korn Ferry.

"But adjusted for an inflation rate of 1.4%, real-wage salaries in Malaysia are expected to grow by 3.6% in 2019, a slight increase from 3.5% predicted for 2018," the global consulting firm said in a statement today.

“We have observed that most organisations are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach. Signs of economic contractions are everywhere and therefore, organisations are being a bit cautious in allocating bigger amounts of increment to their employees,” said Korn Ferry country manager of products for Malaysia, Halim Ariff, in a statement today.

According to Korn Ferry, all sectors surveyed are expected to see an increase in median base salaries, with the telecommunications and media sector predicted to see the highest increase in 2019, up 0.4% to 6%.

"Insurance and oil and gas (O&G) sectors are expected to see the smallest increase in median base salaries, up 0.2% from 5.4% and 4.2% respectively.

"The industrial products sector is the only exception, as median base salaries are predicted to decrease by 0.2% to 4.9%," it added.

Korn Ferry noted variable bonus payment trends are also expected to decrease, averaging 2.1 months in 2019, compared with an average of 2.3 months last year.

It said bonuses for the construction sector are expected to be among the highest in 2019 at 2.8 months, while bonuses for employees in the consumer goods and services sector are expected to remain among the lowest at 1.9 months.

On average, senior and middle management are expected to see the largest decrease in variable bonus payments, down 0.6 months and 0.5 months respectively, while clerical staff are expected to see an increase of 0.2 months.

Bonuses of junior professionals are likely to remain at an average of 2.0 months in 2019, Korn Ferry said.

The data was drawn from Korn Ferry’s pay database of more than 20 million job holders in 25,000 organisations across more than 110 countries.

It shows predicted salary increases — as forecast by global human resource leaders — for 2019, and compares them to predictions made at this time last year, regarding 2018. It also compares them to 2019 inflation forecasts from the Economist Intelligence Unit.