Australians will continue to command higher salaries than their international counterparts – with the finance sector predicted to continue its recovery, according to Hay Group's Australian Salary Index 2012.
Hay Group expects Australian salaries to increase by an average of 4 per cent across all industries in 2012, with the finance sector regaining some ground since the global financial crisis.
Bonus payments were back to pre-GFC levels for finance, Hay Group said.
And those with specialist knowledge or industry-specific technical skills commanded a much higher premium, with incentivised pay on the rise, the report said.
The link between company performance and incentives is growing, Hay Group said, with 37.9 per cent of executive and senior management total pay slated as bonuses in 2012, up almost 8 per cent.
But fixed annual reward moved 3.9 per cent, still 1.5 per cent shy of pre-GFC levels and 0.3 per cent behind the overall industrial and services market.
"Sectors such as financial services are showing increasing signs of resilience, with this sector experiencing a 5.7 per cent increase in Total Annual Reward over the last 12 months," said author of the report and senior Hay consultant Steven Paola.
Insurance however, had a tough time retaining talent, as the sector was placed in a pool of industries that delivered wages between 3 and 10 per cent lower than the national average.
Hay Group pointed to rising cost-of-living pressures, a tightening of the employment market and skills shortages in technical roles as the causes of global wage discrepancies.
The report said Australia was in a good position to retain local talent and attract overseas workers due to high wages compared to other developed and emerging economies.
But the largest pay increases have been in the resources sector, which has undone the myth that capital city workers attract higher wages, Hay Group said.
