If the "ECA International Salary Trends Survey 2006/2007", released in Singapore this week, is proved true, other Asian workers will also be jubilant. Asians' salary rises are forecast to be 50 per cent higher this year than last and should be well above the global average.

The survey - conducted annually by ECA International, the world's largest membership organisation for international human-resources professionals - establishes actual and predicted salary increases in local markets around the world.

It is used by multinational organisations to help them determine future wage increases both at home and abroad.

Out of the 45 countries included in the survey, the five highest real wage increases during this year are all expected to occur in Asia.

Indian workers are set to receive the highest increases, with companies forecasting annual rises of 12 per cent, resulting in real wage increases of 7 per cent once inflation has been taken into account.

Workers in Indonesia and China are expected to benefit from real wage increases of about 6 per cent, while the Philippines and Thailand, with forecast real salary increases of 4 per cent each, come in at 4th and 5th, respectively, in the rankings.

Real salary increases - a worker's actual annual salary increase after inflation is taken into account - in Singapore this year are expected to be about 2.8 per cent on average. This is below the regional average but still nearly double the increases expected in Hong Kong and higher than those afforded to Singaporeans last year.

"The relatively high annual wage increases in Singapore, like elsewhere in Asia, are largely the result of strong economic performance," said ECA International general manager Lee Quane.

"In a number of Asian markets, however, economic growth is outpacing the skilled workforce, producing talent shortages. As a result, many companies in the region are continuing to use hefty salary hikes partly to attract and retain top talent."

With higher annual salary increases and lower inflation forecasts in most Asian countries, the average real wage increase for the region is expected to reach 3.6 per cent this year, a hike of about 50 per cent from last year. This is almost double that afforded elsewhere in the world.

The talent shortage in many Asian economies is most marked at senior management levels, so it is at this level where the most significant salary increases are occurring, leading to a widening gap between junior and senior management salaries in some locations.

In Asia's rapidly expanding markets, salary increases at all management levels are outpacing increases in Asia's more developed economies, such as Singapore and Japan.

In China, a 50-per-cent increase in senior-level salaries from 2002-06 reflects the impact of rapid economic growth on the war for talent in Asia's fastest-growing economy.

The 10-per-cent average increase for Singaporean senior managers over the same period shows that salaries in Asia's emerging markets, especially for senior management, are catching up.

"While one does not expect senior salary levels to be in line with more mature economies in Asia within the next couple of years, the rapid growth of salary levels in the rapidly developing markets in Asia presents a huge challenge to human resources. Assessing whether to continue to use cash to attract and retain staff will continue to be one of the main challenges facing human-resources managers now and in the next few years," added Quane.

Vietnamese managers are expected to receive the lowest real wage increases in Asia, with high inflation cancelling out sizeable rises. Real wage increases in Hong Kong are forecast at 1.5 per cent, while increases in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia are likely to be 2-3.5 per cent.

Outside of Asia, the highest real wage increases this year are forecast to be in one of Europe's most rapidly expanding economies: Slovakia.

For the second year running in Russia, annual salary increases are set to be higher than inflation forecasts, giving workers an increase of about 3 per cent, one of the highest outside of Asia.

At the other end of the scale, workers in Argentina, Hungary, Germany, New Zealand and Spain can expect real wage increases of less than 1 per cent. Workers in the US can expect marginally higher real wage increases of 1.1 per cent.