Most employees around the world received a pay increase in 2014 and can expect to receive comparable increases in 2015, according to research by Aon Hewitt.
Its Global salary increases survey, which researched 12,690 employers in 110 countries, found that employees in Africa are expected to see the highest rate of increase in pay in 2015 at 8%, up from 7.4% in 2014.
However, employees in north America can expect to see the lowest salary increase at 3%, up from 2.9% in 2014, although it is the largest increase the region has experienced since 2008.
The research found that the high pay rises in Africa is a result of the impact of inflation, the challenge of finding skilled employees in the region and employers’ efforts to attract and retain top talent.
Workers in Europe can also expect to see a pay rise of 3.7%, up from 3.6%, but the rate of increase varies by country.
According to the research, salary budgets in almost every country across Europe are forecasted to rise above inflation in 2015 despite this fluctuation.
Elsewhere, Russia and Ukraine salary budget increases are expected to be between 8% and 8.2% in 2015, while budget increases in Greece are expected to be just 1.9%.
Yanina Koliren, global compensation suverys and solutions leader at Aon Hewitt, said: “This year, improved gross domestic product (GDP) projections and lower unemployment rates for most countries meant good news for many employees around the world.
“Employers are compenting aggressively for talent, particularly in some regions of the world, and they recognise pay is a key factor in attracting and retaining top employees.”