The global and Asia Pacific economies are poised for growth, with Asia Pacific GDP projected to rise to 3.6% in 2025, up from 3.4% in 2024. This positive trend is driven by strong performances in countries like India and China, particularly in technology and manufacturing. While salary increase rates are expected to stay stable across the region, this indicates that other factors are influencing the salary landscape in Asia Pacific.
Examination of the actual total annual compensation across roles from senior managers to manual labourers showed widening pay gaps between experienced and entry-level employees (Figure 1).
Key markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong offer the highest pay for senior managers across the region. In Vietnam, senior managers earn 21 times more than intermediate production workers, indicating the strong competition for experienced talent in the market. Across the region, the pay ratio between senior managers to intermediate production workers averages at 15 times and may even decline over time.
However, organisations should consider the recent minimum wage increases across the region as these can impact on supply chain restructuring decisions. Below is an overview of compensation trends across countries in Asia Pacific:
Current pay practices across Asia Pacific show the growing need for experienced talent as well as the impact of minimum wage increases in several countries within the region. Further, it indicates widespread digital transformation as organisations outside of the TMG sector adjust their pay practices to attract and retain critical IT talent.
AI development initiatives are rapidly spreading across countries in Asia Pacific due to emergence of associated infrastructure and supportive country-specific policies. For instance, national policies are being authored in Singapore and China to support AI, while an increasingly “digital-native population” in Southeast Asia has encouraged wider use of AI. Meanwhile, data and cloud centres are emerging in Indonesia and Malaysia, while tech parks are being constructed in Taiwan. Web and blockchain are gaining ground in Singapore, while semiconductors are becoming more critical for AI infrastructure in Taiwan. In China, investments are being made to promote the use of Large Language Models.
The rapid pace of digital transformation has shifted the talent market in the region, where emerging roles in the AI and Machine Learning field have seen an increase in demand (Figure 2).
| Software and data related jobs tops the most demanding jobs along with client management roles. | AI and Machine Learning continue to be a strong theme across regions as Technology organisations race to gain a competitive edge in this rapidly evolving space. |
| Top 10 jobs in demand | Top 10 emerging jobs |
|---|---|
| 1. Software Engineer | 1. Cloud Engineer |
| 2. Application Developer | 2. Ethics & Compliance Manager |
| 3. Product Manager | 3. Full Stack Developer |
| 4. Account Manager | 4. Technology Consultant |
| 5. Data Scientist | 5. Customer Success Manager |
| 6. Test Engineer | 6. Product Manager |
| 7. Business Development Representative | 7. HR Business Partner |
| 8. Solution Architect | 8. Data Scientist |
| 9. Data Engineer | 9. AI Engineer |
| 10. Technology Consultant | 10. Digital Strategy Manager |
Source: 2025 Q1 WTW Talent Intelligence Report, Technology
While software and data-related jobs remain critical for organisations, tech companies are also gearing to be more competitive toward attracting emerging roles in AI. However, leading organisations in the AI market have found it difficult to attract top digital talent. As such, some have begun to offer pay premiums to be competitive in attracting the right digital talent (Figure 3).
| Location | Skills premiums | Hiring bonus |
|---|---|---|
| India | 10% - 15% | 10% - 15% |
| Taiwan | 10% - 20% | 10% - 20% |
| China | 10% - 20% | 10% - 20% |
Note: This figure shows premiums as a percentage of base salary in different locations.
In India, skills premiums take up to 15% of the base salary, while in Taiwan and China, skills premiums can go up to 20% of the base salary. Other organisations in Asia Pacific explore lower-cost locations to find digital talent. However, more than half of companies surveyed in the 2024 WTW Digital Transformation Practices Report – Asia Pacific found that offering differentiated reward programmes has been critical for sourcing digital talent. These differentiated reward programmes can include enhanced levels of base pay, remote working as well as providing learning and development opportunities.
Salary trends for digital talent have shown that organisations are keen towards crafting competitive rewards strategies. However, embarking on these initiatives without consulting HR metrics can be like driving to an unfamiliar destination with no GPS. HR metrics shed light on potential changes on an organisation’s workforce such as turnover, skills gap and engagement dips, which can enable companies to proactively respond to these concerns. Metrics that can significantly impact business outcomes include diversity metric, span of control analysis and staffing ratio analysis. Below is an overview of each:
Compensation practices and the talent market in Asia Pacific are evolving due to regulatory and technological advancements. Regulatory changes, such as higher minimum wages, are affecting supply chain decisions and labour costs. At the same time, the growing use of AI and automation, along with supportive policies, is driving organisations to seek digital talent, even in non-tech sectors. To stay competitive, companies are offering pay premiums, hiring bonuses and tailored rewards programmes. By using HR metrics, organisations can gain valuable insights to optimise their workforce and build strategic rewards programmes that drive growth and success.
