If you might be searching for the Southeast Asian country with the very best salary growth immediately, Vietnam is the reply. In 2025, wage increases in Vietnam reached 7.7%. and were the very best within the region. It is forecast that for 2026 Vietnam will proceed to be the leader, with growth of seven.1%.
These numbers are well above the regional average, which is estimated at 5.3%.
The data comes from the Southeast Asia Wage Growth and Turnover Survey 2025, published by Aon plc (NYSE: AON). More than 700 firms from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam participated within the study between July and September 2025.
Average salary growth in Southeast Asia
| Country/region | Salary increase 2024 | Salary increase 2025 | Projection 2026 | Attrition 2023 | Attrition 2024 | Attrition 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The SEA basically | 5.1% | 5.4% | 5.3% | 15.5% | 17.4% | 17.5% |
| Indonesia | 5.7% | 5.7% | 5.9% | 15.1% | 20.8% | 15.0% |
| Malaysia | 4.9% | 4.8% | 4.8% | 16.2% | 15.9% | 18.2% |
| Philippines | 5.4% | 5.3% | 5.2% | 17.5% | 19.1% | 20.0% |
| Singapore | 4.2% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 16.5% | 16.7% | 19.3% |
| Thailand | 4.4% | 4.6% | 4.7% | 14.0% | 16.6% | 17.2% |
| Vietnam | 6.4% | 7.7% | 7.1% | 13.8% | 15.5% | 15.0% |
Overall, regional wage growth has remained relatively stable over the past three years. However, Vietnam’s performance consistently outperforms the regional average, driven mainly by the technology sector, which is forecast to see salaries increase by 7.1% in 2026.
Indonesia also sees high growth within the technology sector (5.9%), while Singapore is supported by the life sciences and medical devices industries (4.6%). Meanwhile, Malaysia’s growth is driven by consulting, business and social services (4.8%).
Maintenance becomes an actual battle
However, aggressive wage increases include growing worker retention challenges. It is forecast that in 2025, the Philippines and Singapore will record the very best population loss rates – 20.0% and 19.3%, respectively, followed by Malaysia – 18.2%.
By industry, consultancy, business and social services the very best turnover rate is 22.6%, followed by retail at 21.6% and manufacturing at 17.5%.
Rahul Chawla, partner and head of talent solutions for Southeast Asia at Aon, emphasized that today’s firms face two major priorities: retaining top talent while maintaining cost flexibility.
“As technology capital deployment and strategic investments accelerate in Southeast Asia, organizations are increasingly focused on retaining top talent and highly skilled workers.”
According to him, pressure on payroll costs is inevitable, but firms must remain flexible:
“The secret’s to balance rising compensation costs with the necessity for flexibility. The most successful firms leverage real-time market data and total compensation strategies to remain ahead.”
This signifies that pay strategies are not any longer based solely on inflation adjustments or annual benchmarks. Instead, firms are increasingly counting on real-time market data and a complete compensation approach to make sure that key talent doesn’t defect to competitors.
With jobs in sales, information technology, AI/ML, cybersecurity and engineering in high demand – and 63 percent of firms seeing skills gaps – competition for talent in Southeast Asia is anticipated to stay intense.
Current wage growth data shows that Vietnam has turn out to be the epicenter of wage growth within the region.
