Salary increases above market average were granted in industry (8.9%) and retail (6.7%). The banking sector (5.4%), leasing (4.6%) and the pharmaceutical industry (4.8%) registered below-average salary increases.
By staff categories, the biggest salary increases were for skilled and unskilled laborers – 7.7%. Among all analyzed staff categories, management levels had the lowest salary increases, of little under 6%.
Compared with previous editions of the PayWell study, salaries in the private sector continue to rise. The average salary increase was 3.7% in 2016 and 5.1% in 2017. All sectors of activity posted bugger salary growth compared with 2017 and growth in the banking sector more than doubles, from a 2.1% raise in 2017 to 5.4% in 2018.
For 2019, employers estimate lower salary growth, of 4.6% on average. Employers planned a 6.5% growth in salaries for employees in manufacturing, while growth for other categories of staff will not exceed 5% next year.
Apart from salaries, 53% of employers offer fixed bonuses to their employees on certain occasions, particularly in industry and retail, where 68% and 73% of employers, respectively, offer such bonuses. Employers in other sectors tend to prefer performance bonuses.
In 2018, the number of companies offering benefits that impact employees’ work-life balance has increased compared with 2017, and 55% of employers offer flexible working hours, 50% involve employees in social responsibility actions, and 26% offer subscriptions to online libraries.
The report analyzed 97 companies in banking, leasing, pharmaceuticals, industry, retail and hotels.