KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13): Malaysian salaries are projected to rise by 5.2% in 2019 — about the same as last year — as most industries are expected to maintain the same growth momentum, said human resources consultancy Mercer.

The consumer goods industry, however, is expected to record a slight increase in salary of 0.3% in 2019, according to Mercer's annual "Compensation Planning for 2019" survey.

In terms of types of roles most likely to fetch increases, the firm said legal, finance, and research and development functions emerged as the top three.

"Positive signals of revival in the semiconductor and biotechnology sectors [imply] that specialist engineering and sales talent will be in demand. Bucking the trend of muted growth in the rest of the banking and financial services industry, the insurance industry is projected to see healthy growth," said Mercer.

Hash Piperdy, chief executive officer of Mercer Malaysia, noted that Malaysia remains a highly competitive economy, with 38% from Generation X and 44% of millennials occupying the workforce this year.

"Despite some variations across the Asia Pacific, the overall hiring outlook is positive, with 62% of companies looking to maintain headcount in order to seize diversification and growth opportunities in the face of ongoing disruption.

"Mercer continues to dedicate resources into understanding these trends at a local and regional level by surveying companies with multi-market presence," said Piperdy.

The annual survey identifies key remuneration trends and makes hiring and pay increase predictions for the coming year across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Figures and forecasts are based on the Total Remuneration Surveys — Mercer's flagship annual compensation and benefits benchmarking study, with participation from over 533 companies in Malaysia across 12 industries this year.