Big firms' pay rises above 3pc, close to 9-year high
Average salary increases remain near post-1998 highs, according to an Employers' Federation of Hong Kong survey of 126 companies with a combined workforce of 160,000. Of these, 55 had given pay rises averaging 3.14 per cent in the first two months of the year, down from the average 3.19 per cent rises awarded in the same period last year. The federation recommends 2.5 per cent. The other 71 expect to award pay rises averaging 2.9 per cent. Rises at companies that review wages in January and February have been going up steadily since 2003, during the Sars crisis, when they averaged just 0.09 per cent.