Expect more money, more jobs in 2010



Employers are set to increase salaries and hire more staff in the coming financial year according to the Australian Institute of Management’s National Salary Survey 2010.

The AIM surveyed 750 small and large organisations to find only 12.5 per cent plan to decrease staff numbers compared to 23.5 per cent in the previous year’s survey.  

Employers in NSW and the ACT have the greatest ground to make up in the salary stakes, according to the AIM.

Annual salary increases in NSW and the ACT of 3.5 per cent were the lowest among the states and territories during the current financial year. The national average was 3.7 per cent compared to 4.3 per cent during the previous financial year.

Of those organisations surveyed in NSW and the ACT, most employers claim they will award pay rises in the coming financial year in line with predicted national average of 3.6 per cent.

Only 73.6 per cent of respondents awarded salary increases during the 2009-2010 financial year compared to 96 per cent during the previous financial year.

Of the large organisations responding to the AIM 2010 Salary Survey, 40.5 per cent reported shedding staff in the current financial year compared to 22.7 per cent in the 2009 survey.

AIM’s NSW/ACT chief executive David Wakeley says the big challenge for employers in the coming financial year will be finding the right balance between containing costs and rewarding staff.

“As the job market continues to improve, the big challenge is going to be finding ways to keep good people without incurring huge wage-cost blowouts,” Mr Wakeley says.

“For the past two years, it has really been an employer’s market, but that is all about to change.

“Staff who may have tightened their belts in leaner times will again be on the hunt for new opportunities and bigger pay packets.

“Many employers will still have big cost pressures, but the savvier ones will look at creative ways to motivate people without offering big salary hikes.”

The survey also found that despite rising unemployment, more than one-third (36.9 per cent) of large companies continued to report difficulties recruiting staff due to skill shortages.

Construction and engineering, finance and accounting, sales and marketing, and trades were among the sectors most affected.

“With the skills shortage tipped to worsen, employers need to move sooner rather than later to lock in their best and brightest in those sectors most susceptible to skills shortages,” Mr Wakeley said.

Large companies have dedicated training budget and formal succession plans in place, when compared to the 2008 and 2009 editions of the survey.

A higher percentage of employers are offering flexible salary packaging and some form of variable reward to retain and hire employees across job levels.

CareerOne.com.au, May 20, 2010.