Salaries are forecast to rise by at least 4.3 percent this year due to an increasing competition for talent in Singapore, a Mercer study has found.

According to the survey, the biggest winners are expected to be the broadcasting, pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, where salaries are expected to rise by around 4.5 percent.

The Business Times quoted Verena Chua, the firm’s deputy business leader as saying, “With organisations fighting hard to attract and retain talent, companies appear to be adopting short-term approaches such as salary increases and variable bonuses rather than longer-term strategies."

Mercer added that as Singapore increases its roles as headquarters to various global companies, there is an increase in the salary differential between regional and country roles too.

Companies were not encouraged to rely on salary hikes alone to retain effective staff. Some other strategies recommended included better communication and flexible benefits.