Survey shows China’s professionals have high expectations – for low pay | South China Morning Post

VirtualRichDream · 2026-03-20T15:18:00+00:00

A survey by Hays reveals that 44% of Chinese professionals expect no pay rise this year, reflecting growing dissatisfaction, with more than half lacking raises last year. Factors include a job market oversaturated with graduates and low consumer demand.

VirtualRichDream

2026-03-20 15:18:00

Abstract generation in progress

About two out of every five professionals in China expect no pay rise this year after more than half missed out on one last year, with both figures higher than the Asian average, according to survey data gathered by a recruiting firm – a trend suggesting further pessimism among an already dissatisfied workforce.

London-based recruitment firm Hays found that 44 per cent of professionals in China – the highest share anywhere in Asia – anticipate no salary increase in 2026. Six per cent expect a pay cut, one percentage point higher than the region as a whole, it found.

The same proportion of Chinese professionals – 44 per cent – indicated they were “dissatisfied” with their current salary, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday. The figure matched the Asia-wide average.

Hays found that 51 per cent of professionals in China, compared with 36 per cent across Asia, received no raise last year, while one in 10 saw a pay cut – both the highest in the region.

The recruitment firm said this year’s findings, featuring data gathered from 13,000 professionals in Asia, highlight “increasing dissatisfaction with pay and the influence this is having on mobility sentiment both in China and across the region”.

The findings reflect broader pressures in the Chinese job market, where a glut of university graduates, strained public finances and weak consumer demand have prompted many employers to keep salaries relatively low over the past few years.

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