2008 Report

Survey reveals trends seen in 2008 salary market

For the period of April 2007 to March 2008, Navigos Group’s Vietnam Salary Survey 2008 measured the salaries in the market across different levels and industries. In seminar events held in HCMC and Hanoi, the leading HR company disclosed the highlights of the study that indicated some interesting and unprecedented findings in the market. As previously shared, the salary increment for the period covered reached 19.5 percent, which is the highest in a five-year period. To further put this increase into context, the survey also discovered that some employers have responded to economic factors like inflation. This was reflected most convincingly by the fact that 61 out of total 206 participating companies have shared that they observed ad hoc salary reviews within the one year period, 91% of these companies saying they did two review and 8.5% saying they did three reviews. The top reasons they gave for doing these reviews were inflation and the retention issues that followed.

Salary movement in terms of location showed that in 2008, with 23.7% increase, Hanoi is 3% higher than HCMC being at about 21%. There has traditionally been a gap in actual salaries between HCMC and Hanoi at 15%, with HCMC being higher. Thus despite the fact that Hanoi increased by a larger percentage, it would seem that HCMC in general still has higher salaries for the workforce based in the city largely believed to be the center of business.

For a second year, Financial services industry showed highest salary movement compared with the other industries measured by the survey. Findings showed that Finance-related companies had increased by about 31.6% collectively. One reason that may account for this fact is that the banking sector has grown quite actively and continues to do so. Local Vietnamese companies showed higher salary increases at 20.2% compared to other company types, perhaps in a continued attempt to catch up with the rest of the market. Foreign-owned companies had increased by 20%.

Educational attainment seems to still be an important factor that determines salaries, however only up to a certain job level. In entry level positions to junior level positions, it appears that education pays: holders of Master Degrees earn an average gross total pay of 30,820 USD per year, compared to a holder of Bachelor’s degree, who in average earns about 10,263 USD per year. For higher levels, education is less magnified and individuals are gauged more on the specific skills and experience they hold rather than what kind of degree they have.

Pay relativities comparing three (3) prominent industries like Finance, Consumer & Manufacturing further validated that Finance industry pays higher in their Professional and Manager levels at about 4,638 USD net and 12,510 net annual, respectively. Consumer Goods would pay a professional and manager slightly lower at about 3,590 USD net and 12,370 USD net annually, respectively. In manufacturing, the figures for a professional is 3,575 USD net and 10,000 USD net for a manager, per year. All figures are averages only and may be higher or lower depending on the pay positioning of each company, thus it is best to just use this figure as a general benchmark rather than an actual basis for salary decisions.

More extensive and specific information may be found from Navigos Group’s Vietnam Salary Survey 2008 Report. For information about the report please call us at (84 8) 3846 6000 or drop an email at salary@navigosgroup.com

Call us at (84 8) 3925 5000 to inquire how you can order our report. The Salary Survey Team is ready to assist you!

Btn_accessSS