Saudi Arabia and Oman based companies gave the highest salary increase projection among GCC countries for 2015 at 5.4 per cent each; a slight decrease from the 2014 predictions, a report said.

Companies across the GCC are predicting an average salary increase of 5.1 per cent in 2015, according to the latest figures from Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business of Aon.

The figure is slightly down from forecasts made in 2014 and 2013 which was 5.5 per cent and 5.4 per cent respectively, indicating that companies across the region are being slightly more conservative with their budgets.

However, employees were given an average salary increase of 4.9 per cent in 2014, only slightly below the original projection of 5.5 per cent, according to Aon Hewitt.

Bahrain gave the lowest salary increase projection at 4.5 per cent followed by the UAE at 4.8 per cent, Qatar at 5.2 per cent and Kuwait at 5.3 per cent.

Released as part of Aon’s annual Global Salary Increase Survey 2014, the figures are based on data from a robust comparative group of over 500 organisations across the Middle East. The report offers a unique snapshot of salary increase trends which, in turn, enables organisations to benchmark their forecasts with the market in order to remain competitive.

Robert Richter, compensation survey manager, Aon Hewitt Middle East, said: “The latest figures show that corporates continue to have confidence in the 2015 economic outlook despite the slightly lower predictions made for the year ahead. It is normal procedure for companies to rethink their salary projections on an annual basis and the latest figure shouldn’t be a cause for concern for employees.”

“Final budgets will be determined by HR and the management team of a company and the numbers we receive are the projections made by HR only; it seems this year HR will be more in line with the final numbers,” he added.

According to the research firm Capital Economics, inflation in Saudi Arabia is likely to remain steady at around 3.5 per cent- 4 per cent over the coming years, as growth weakens in comparison to the past decade.

According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), inflation in Oman has remained subdued in the first quarter of 2014, despite a rise in consumer spending. – TradeArabia News Service