25% of S’pore Companies Plan to Freeze Salaries in 2021 But It’s Better Than 2020

You’ve heard of freezing eggs.

You’ve heard of Freezing, the television series.

And now, it appears that we’ve a new provisional meaning to the term:

The freezing of salary increments – a notion that has arisen in light of the much-dreaded coronavirus outbreak.

25% of S’pore Companies Plan to Freeze Salaries in 2021 But It’s Better Than 2020

A whopping 25% of Singapore-based organisations are purportedly set to either introduce or continue with salary freezes in 2021.

Lest you’re unaware, a salary freeze does not refer to the suspension of your monthly income. Neither does it mean a salary that’s literally frozen into ice by your boss’ IceIceBaby9000x. Rather, it refers to the suspension of salary or wage increases for a set period of time.

Simply put, it won’t hurt much if your salary’s already at its peak. On the other hand, it would certainly hurt if your current salary’s barely sufficient to put food on the table.

Well you know what they say; times are tough.

Though on a somewhat positive note, 25% is still a significant improvement off the situation in 2020. This year, a staggering 30% of organisations in Singapore opted to go all Elsa on wage increments.

It should also be noted that most employers are reportedly going with a wait-and-see approach, which is to say that they will observe the situation carefully as the coronavirus pandemic unravels further.

Should the impact of the outbreak soften, salary increments may also be, for lack of a better phrase, let out of the freezer.

Meanwhile, the pay cut aspect will certainly improve by leaps and bounds in 2021. This year, 29% of employers had to make salary adjustments (reductions). In 2021, however, around 3% of employers have conveyed their intention of doing so.

Total Remuneration Survey

The findings are in accordance with Mercer’s annual Total Remuneration Survey, which gathered information from 992 companies (across 16 industries) in Singapore this year.

Apparently, the overall salary increase in 2021 is projected to decline slightly to 3.5 per cent, from 3.6 per cent this year.

Certain industries will also differ in terms of salary increments.

The logistics and consumer goods industries, for instance, are expected to impose slightly higher increments of 3.3 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively. In comparison, its increments increased by 3.1 per cent and 3.4 per cent this year.

This is a trend synonymous with a distinct shift towards online purchases.

On the other hand, employees in lifestyle retail may suffer the steepest dip in increments, with a projected salary increase of 2.9 per cent in 2021.

In comparison, the figure was at 3.3 per cent in 2020.

Meanwhile, wage growth is also expected to decline in the life sciences, real estate, and chemicals sectors in 2021.

In Demand

As businesses seek to digitalise their platforms, employers have begun to compete for talent in the necessary fields.

According to the survey, the most in-demand are deemed to be data scientists, IT solution architects, business intelligence analysts and cybersecurity engineers.

Roles that contribute to digitalisation efforts will stand to draw attractive salary premiums, especially at senior and specialist levels.

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