China to top Asia for 2014 salary growth

China will continue to top all other Asian countries in terms of salary growth in 2014, according to a global human resources agency.

In the Hays' Asia Salary Guide 2014, released on Thursday, the agency stated that 67 percent of Chinese employers had said they would increase employees' salaries by more than 6 percent, compared with 66 percent of China's employers last year.

Only 29 percent of employers in other Asian countries said there would be a salary increase of more than 6 percent in their companies, while 25 percent of those employers only wanted to increase salaries by less than 3 percent.

Hays surveyed 2,600 Asian employers from countries including China, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. Based on this survey, Hays disclosed its salary predictions for a total of 1,200 jobs and employment trends.

About 9 percent of Chinese respondents said they would increase employees' salaries by more than 10 percent in 2014, compared with 12 percent of China's employers last year.

In the Chinese job market, the financial sector may see a climb of 10 to 15 percent. Architects and engineers may even see a rise of 15-20 percent. Pharmaceutical companies, financial technology services providers, manufacturers of niche technologies such as avionics, as well as oil and gas companies focusing on niche skill sets, will have the highest demand for qualified candidates in the next 12 months and will be most likely to generously increase salaries.