Salary hikes hit 10-year low

By Phuong Dong October 17, 2025 | 05:55 pm PT

Multinationals raised salaries by an average of 6.3% and domestic firms by 6.2% in 2025, the smallest pay hikes in a decade, according to a survey by recruitment firms Talentnet and Mercer.

The survey, which polled 678 companies, found that multinationals have maintained a similar rate for a second year and are expected to do so again next year, indicating caution and a global trend of tightening personnel budgets.

Nguyen Thi Quynh Phuong, director of human resources solutions at Talentnet, said however that a positive sign is that the number of multinationals freezing salary hikes has halved from last year. "This can be seen as an effort to maintain minimum salary increases to retain talent."

At domestic firms, the annual raise rate slowed for a fourth straight year.

The three industries with the lowest hikes this year are insurance (5.5%), transportation and logistics (5.2%) and banking (4.7%).

Salaries are more tightly controlled in these sectors due to ongoing restructuring and adoption of automation technologies, Phuong said.

At the other end of the scale, the top hikes were in the chemicals, supply chain and pharmaceutical industries, and ranged between 6.7% and 6.8%.

These industries require highly skilled, specialized personnel and continuous innovation, particularly as green production and sustainable supply chains gain prominence, the survey said.

However, there were significant variations in salary hikes within companies based on job levels and functions.

For instance, companies have been willing to pay 7% above average to attract new managerial staff, but 3% and 14% lower for new specialist and manual work hires.

"This shows that companies are not inclined to recruit additional staff, as the current workforce, with greater seniority and process familiarity, maintains stable roles," Phuong said.

Most companies focus on maintaining stability in personnel planning. Nearly 48% of surveyed companies plan to keep their current workforce size, prioritizing internal strengthening over expansion, and only 35% plan to hire afresh, a steep drop from last year’s 41%.

Caution is also evident among employees, reflected in the consistently low voluntary turnover rate, unchanged from last year.

In the first half of this year the job resignation rates were 6.5% at multinational companies and 9.6%. at domestic firms.

Phuong said this is both because workers prioritize job security and companies focus on talent retention policies.