The Edge Markets, citing the 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide, reported that employers were also expected to remain cautious on plans to increase headcount.
The survey found that salary increases will be moderate this year with 49% of employers planning to offer salary increases of between 3% and 6%, which is 1% lower than what was reported in 2017.
Only about 39% of employers in 2018 plan to offer salary increase of more than 6% in the year ahead.
“Although most companies in Malaysia plan to award only modest salary increases during their next review period, we do expect to see significant increases for candidates with niche skills moving jobs as well as those with skills which are in short supply in 2018,” Hays Malaysia regional director Tom Osborne was reported as saying.
The survey also found that only 46% of employers intend to increase the headcount in 2018, compared with 44% in 2017.
Meanwhile, 73% of organisations are expecting business activity to increase this year in conjunction with growing business confidence in Malaysia.
The survey showed that optimism is also growing about the expected performance of Malaysia’s economy in 2018, with 23% of employers expecting the economy to strengthen further.
“The economic outlook for Malaysia is very positive, but our research shows employers will take a conservative approach to both permanent hiring and salaries in 2018 to make the most of these conditions,” Osborne said.
Hays said many employers in Malaysia were concerned about the continuing skills shortage issue in the country that is also a prevailing theme across the Asian region.
Osborne also predicted fewer new jobs would be coming into the market this year.
The survey, released today, is based on responses from over 3,000 employers across mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, representing some six million employees.
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