Bigger bonuses and salaries expected in 2008

EMPLOYEES at two-thirds of multinational companies on the Chinese mainland are expected to see year-end bonuses rise at least 10 percent this year, according to a human resources report released today.

Hudson Recruitment, a Nasdaq-listed international headhunting firm, surveyed 737 multinational companies on the mainland, mostly based in Shanghai, about bonuses, salary and turnover in the first quarter.

Sixty-six percent of those surveyed said they were planning to pay a year-end bonus of more than 10 percent of an employees' annual income. The number is 25 percentage points higher than last year's figure.

But the report didn't provide an average year-end bonus figure.

The report also suggested that 32 percent of the surveyed firms will raise employees' salaries at least 20 percent this year.

In media and public relations firms, 21 percent of surveyed employers promised a salary rise of more than 20 percent.

Turnover was also high as 47 percent of the firms said more than 10 percent of their employees took positions at companies last year.

The mainland finished first in all three categories in the quarterly report that covered the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.