Data analysed by the Maritime HR Forum shows that shipping employers' pay forecasts for 2014 are generally more conservative than the wider non-shipping world.
The number of newbuilding orders being placed lately might suggest that shipping is throwing caution to the wind. However, pay review data shows that shipping is exercising slightly more restraint than other sectors.
The differences are not huge, and it's fair to say that shipping pay reviews around the world are broadly in line with regional trends. Pay reviews in the Far East at levels not much above those in Europe and the US. This is in marked contrast to 2008-2012 when pay reviews in the Far East far exceeded those elsewhere. Shipping employers in Singapore are predicting 3.1% pay reviews in 2014 compared with 2.6% in the UK and 2.4% in the US.
The winners in 2014 are staff based in the Middle East where projected pay reviews in shipping are as much as 8.5%, this being the only location where shipping salary inflation appears to be exceeding other sectors (for which the projected increases are around 5.5%). Other places affected by high salary inflation in shipping are India at 7.6%, Brazil at 6.3% and China at 4.6%.
If you'd like to know more about the Maritime HR Forum, please contact Michele Hawkins, Director, HR Consulting Services (pictured right) at [email protected].
