Job Switches, Pay Raises, and Bonuses – What’s Changing This Year?
Perhaps you are considering a career change this year.
Should you keep your current position or look for other jobs?
Making the correct career change necessitates careful consideration due to shifting industry demands, shifting economic conditions, and evolving compensation trends.
Which industries are seeing the highest salary growth?
How does Singapore’s salary outlook compare to its neighboring countries?
What should employees expect in terms of increments and bonuses this year?
Is there any positive outlook for blue-collar workers?
Let’s take a look:
1. Should I stay in my current company or seek better opportunities?
In line with Singapore’s inflation rate, employees who stay in their current jobs can expect a salary increment between 2% and 5% this year, 2025, according to Robert Walters’s prediction (1).
However, if you are looking for a job switch, you can expect a salary raise from 12% to 15%. Professionals in high-demand fields like AI and data analytics could potentially see up to 20% raises.
AI, data analytics, and problem-solving skills will be Singapore’s top three in-demand job competencies when asked for a pay raise.
2. How is Singapore’s anticipated increment compared to our neighboring country?
Aon’s survey of 950+ companies across six Southeast Asian countries (2) found that Vietnam is expected to see the highest salary increase in 2025 (6.7%), followed by Indonesia and the Philippines.
Singapore is predicted to have the lowest increment rate at 4.4% among the 6 regions.
3. Which industries are providing a significant increase?
Although salary increments in Singapore will remain conservative in 2025, more employers will offer larger bonuses.
According to Manpower’s survey of 525 employers (3), 35% of companies plan to give a bonus of 1 to 1.5 months, while 12% will offer more than 1.5 months; compared to 2023/2024, the increment rate is 8% and 5%, respectively.
Employers in the Energy and Utilities sector are set to offer the highest bonuses in 2025, with all surveyed companies (100%) planning to provide at least one month or more!
However, when it comes to 1 to 1.5-month bonuses, the Transport, Logistics and Automotive sector is the highest, with 71% of employers providing that percentage, the most generous among all industries.
4. Non-executive Salary Increment outlook
What about blue-collar workers and the non-executive sector?
Sales promoters saw the highest median salary increase of 32% in the first three quarters of 2024, followed by general workers (including warehouse packers and office administrators) at 30%, according to JobStreet Express (4).
In an interview, Mr. Juairi Jaafar, General Manager of JobStreet Express Singapore, shared that these non-executive roles remain integral to building Singapore’s economy and will continue to see strong salary increments.