Salary increments to see slower growth this year: report

The level of salary increments in China is expected to remain its slower growth for this year, due to a slowing down of the economy, a new report said on Tuesday.

According to the Salary Survey 2016 released by global recruitment specialist Robert Walters, Chinese employees who plan to change jobs in 2016 can expect their salaries to go up by 10 to 20 percent on average, while those who choose to stay may see wage increases of about 5 to 7 percent. Both figures are slightly lower than the expectation made for 2015 as the recruitment market is tending towards maturity.

"The trend will continue in 2016 as companies remain cautious with regards to their expansion and hiring plans and they will be stricter with their selection requirements to hire value-added talents," said Wang Qiang, managing director of Roberts Walters China.

Among those candidates looking for new jobs, their attitudes also have turned wiser, paying more attention to the growth potential of the job positions and companies as another sign of the more mature recruitment market in China, the report said.

"Jobseekers nowadays are more concerned about having a stable platform for them to gain more experience and develop their skill sets in their job," said Wang.

In certain sectors such as IT, pharmaceutical and healthcare, promising growth in recruitment is expected due to beneficial policies from the central government, while there will also be a slowdown in recruitment in the manufacturing sector due to the rising costs of operating in China.

"Despite an overall slowing down, certain sectors will outperform others with professionals commanding increases as high as 30 percent when switching jobs, such as in e-commerce, and sales professionals in Fast Moving Consumer Goods," said Wang.