Modest pay hike and bonuses in 2014

Local employees can expect an expected average salary increase of 4.4% in 2014, down from the actual salary increase of 4.9% this year.

According to global management consultancy Hay Group's Market Remuneration Survey, those working in the fast moving consumer goods sector are expected to have the highest average salary increase at 5%, followed by both the oil and gas and industrial goods sectors with 4.7%.

"Our analysis of pay trends in Singapore show that 2014 is likely to turn out to be a reasonably good year as significant economic growth announced by the Ministry of Trade translates into fair increases in pay," Victor Chan, regional general manager (Singapore and ASEAN) for Productised Services at Hay Group, said.

"Nevertheless, there is an opportunity for organisations to be creative about how they reward their people - going beyond the cash component.

"It's about spending smarter, not more, and reviewing return on reward spend frequently to ensure the firm is getting more bang for their buck."

Employees here can also look forward to an actual variable bonus of 2.4 months for 2013 and an expected payout of 2.2 months in 2014, which is slightly lower than the average 2.5 months in September 2012.

A further breakdown of the figures revealed senior managers can expect an average variable bonus payout of three months, followed by 2.5 months for middle management, 2.1 months for junior professionals and two months for clerical support.