The labor market has undergone a major transformation in recent years. The trend in HR has changed, with a shift in focus from employers' expectations to employees' preferences, further reinforced by the acceleration of digitalization. Thus, as inflation rises, regular pay increases, especially in terms of size, are becoming increasingly important alongside the basic wage. These changes prompted ManpowerGroup's Pay Rise survey, a representative survey of 1,384 employees in Hungary who participated online. 

The highest proportion of workers in the automotive sector (69.41% received a pay rise, taking home an average of 10.9%more a month. The largest average pay increase was in the food and agriculture sector, with 15.7%. Construction workers fared the worst, with just under a third (32.79%) receiving a pay rise and reporting the smallest increase of 9.45%. 

Among all sectors, about 62% of those in subordinate status and 61% of middle and senior managers reported a pay rise. Interestingly, those working in the SME sector received a higher increase of 14.7%, compared to medium and large companies, who took home 12.5% more. 

Although about 60% of those surveyed reported an average pay rise of 12.7%, 39% of respondents did not receive a pay rise this year, despite the worsening inflation.

"In terms of satisfaction, however, the survey results paint a more nuanced picture. Although job satisfaction is higher among those who received a raise than among those who did not, the results show that higher than expected pay increases are not clearly associated with higher satisfaction. This also shows that employees' needs have changed and that factors such as flexibility, training, and well-being have become more important than competitive pay," explains Tamás Fehér, managing director of ManpowerGroup Hungary. 

However, companies should think about what improvements are needed to retain existing staff, as only 52.88% of respondents are satisfied with their current job, according to the survey. So nearly half of employees are not very optimistic about their current employer.  

One option is fringe benefits, which remain an important element of motivation, ManpowerGroup argues. There is one key difference between manual and non-manual workers. For manual workers, the Cafeteria (49%) and bonuses (25%) remain the two most attractive forms of extra benefits. Among those in white-collar positions, the possibility of teleworking and flexible working (19%) has also emerged, alongside the Cafeteria (30%) and bonus/commission (29%).