Sectors that will get the best – and worst – pay hikes in 2013

The salaried class, overall, have not been mighty happy over the past three years or so. The double-digit pay-hikes can now be enjoyed only in hindsight, living in the hope of getting handsome increments and bonuses sometime in the future.

But not everyone’s salaries have stagnated. In fact, employees in certain industries have seen their salaries rise at a rosy clip, while many others have actually become poorer in the past few years. Their take-home salary was slashed during the worst recession years, and they haven’t really seen it growing back to the levels of pre-2008 era.

As per Aon Hewitt, the global human resources business of Aon, UAE employees received a 5.2 per cent salary hike in 2012. This year, the workforce is likely to see an anticipated pay hike of 5.1 per cent, just a fraction lower than last year.

While the average income across industries is expected to rise (around the 5-per cent mark), the expected band, however, hides within itself a range of variations, in that employees in certain sectors of the economy will get a much better deal than some others.

According to Gareth Clayton, Director, Charterhouse Partnership, the industries that spelt doom in 2008 still suffer the most when it comes to salaries.