Pharma sector may get 8-13% salary hike

Employees in the pharmaceutical sector can expect an average pay hike of 13 per cent in the 2010-11 fiscal amid robust business growth in the space, according to HR services provider Ma Foi Randstad.

According to Ma Foi Randstad's latest survey on employment trends, various industry sectors in the country are expected to witness average pay hikes in the range of 8-13 per cent in the 2010-11 financial year.

The pharmaceutical sector is expected to see the highest salary increases of 13.2 per cent on average in the current fiscal, the survey revealed.

"Rising purchasing power and increasing penetration of health insurance will support strong growth in business (pharma sector) over the coming months," the survey added.

The real estate and healthcare sectors are both projected to see pay hikes of 12.1 per cent, while the energy space may see pay packages grow by 12.8 per cent on average this fiscal.

Other sectors which are expected to see double digit salary hikes in the current fiscal include education and consultancy (12.6 per cent), IT & IT-enabled services (11.1 per cent) and hospitality (10.6 per cent). The banking, financial services and insurance sector is expected to witness an average 10.3 per cent pay hike in 2010-11.

Meanwhile, the media and entertainment and manufacturing (machinery and equipment) sectors are expected to witness pay hikes of only around eight per cent in the entire fiscal. The Ma Foi Randstad survey covered 650 companies across 13 industry sectors in eight major cities -- Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.