The survey forecast the outlook for 2017 will be just as bleak, said its president, Azman Shah Haron.

Azman said the survey of 280 companies showed that the overall average forecast salary increase for executives in 2017 will be 5.3% compared with 5.55% in 2016.

“It also forecast lower salary increase for non-executives at 5.43% in 2017 compared with 5.51% in 2016,” he said at the launch of the MEF survey here today.

He said the average forecast bonus for 2017 was lower for executives at 2.15 months (2.3 months in 2016) but higher for non-executives at 2.11 months (1.97 months in 2016).

He said according to the findings, in 2016 only 63% of respondent companies granted bonus to executives compared to 74.4% in 2015, and for non-executives it was 61.3% compared to 72.6% in 2015.

Besides the MEF Salary Surveys, Azman Shah also launched the MEF Survey on Management of Foreign Workers, MEF Survey on Managing Employees During Economic Downturn, MEF Fringe Benefits Survey 2016 and the MEF Analysis of Collective Agreements & Awards on Terms and Conditions of Employment 2015.