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employer confidence and hiring activityacross the region.region, there was widespread demandfor risk, compliance and legal talent.The Australia and New Zealand marketsshowed steady growth and modestsalary increases in 2018, althoughpressure is growing for a long-awaiteduptick in salaries in 2019.Regulatory pressure in the UK andAustralia led to high demand forcompliance and risk professionals andthis is set to continue in 2019.KEY TRENDSGlobal shortage of digital skillsThe global demand for digital andtechnology skill sets continued apaceand shows no sign of slowing in 2019.In Australia, digital transformationwas prevalent across many industriesleading to sustained demand fordevelopment and digital specialists.Similarly, in South East Asia,digitalisation remained a key trendwith cyber security, big data and AIspecialists highly sought after.In San Francisco, blockchain andcryptocurrency were growth areas,and start-ups utilising machine learningand AI continued to attract talent ascandidates sought to be on the cuttingedge of technological advancements. InJapan, roles related to data utilisation,AI development/deployment andinfrastructure, rapidly increased acrossall industries.In Germany and Ireland, we expect tosee even greater demand for regulatoryprofessionals across risk, audit,compliance and legal, as the UK isscheduled to exit the EU in 2019.Advice to employersWith talent shortages set to continuein 2019, we advise companies tostreamline their recruitment processesto avoid losing out on top talent. Hiringmanagers should also clearly articulatethe company’s mission, strategy andvalues at interview stage to differentiatethemselves from the competition. Inaddition, for scarce skill sets, employersare advised to hire ambitious, fastlearners, even if they are not an exact fitfor the job description.Retaining staff will remain a toppriority in 2019 so, on top of payingcompetitive salaries, employers shouldcontinue to invest in learning anddevelopment, benefits packages,flexible working and employerbranding.”THE GLOBAL DEMANDFOR DIGITAL ANDTECHNOLOGY SKILLSETS CONTINUEDAPACE AND SHOWSNO SIGN OF SLOWINGIN 2019.Across Greater China, demand fortop-tier talent experienced in hightech and digital transformationprojects outstripped supply. Candidateshortages were also a concern for theUK’s growing technology industry asbusinesses faced stiff competition forsoftware developers and engineers.Risk and compliance talent in highdemandWhile hiring across the banking andfinancial services sector varied stheregion. 11

REGIONAL TRENDSWith our presence spanning 29 locations across six continents ourspecialist teams offer in-depth knowledge of the sectors they recruit for.In this section our regional managing directors share their insights onhiring and salary trends in 2018 and their predictions for the year ahead.Our regional overviews include: Australia & New ZealandEuropeGreater ChinaJapan & South KoreaMiddle East & AfricaNorth AmericaSouth East AsiaUnited Kingdom

THE GROUP’S INTERNATIONAL NETWORKOF OFFICES SPANS 29 LOCATIONS ANDSIX CONTINENTS ENABLING US TOMEET THE DEMANDS OF CLIENTS ANDCANDIDATES WHOSE NEEDS EXTENDBEYOND LOCAL MARKETS

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALANDINTRODUCTION“The Australia and New Zealandmarkets continued their trajectory ofsteady growth in 2018, without everthreatening to break out into all-outbooms.Salary growth has generally beenmodest for the past three years andpressure is gradually building for apossible uplift in wage levels in 2019.Several industry sectors areexperiencing high demand for qualifiedtalent in specialisms where thereis limited supply. The most notablepressure points apply to specific roles ininfrastructure, technology, and bankingand financial services.14Robert Walters Salary Survey 2019INFRASTRUCTURE DRIVINGDEMANDThe skylines of most major citiesin Australia and New Zealand arecurrently dotted with cranes, as nationalinfrastructure projects continue. Civilengineers and project managers willbe highly sought after in 2019 to helpdeliver new roads, railways, hospitals,schools, stadiums and hotels. Weexpect an increase in demand forancillary roles too, such as architects,interior designers and lawyers withrelevant contract expertise.TECH POWERING GROWTHIn the technology space, we will seedemand for numerous IT specialistscontinue unabated in 2019. High-profilesecurity breaches and regulatoryscrutiny are increasing the value ofOur presence in Australia &New Zealand: taPerthSydneyWellingtoncyber security professionals, who arealready in short supply. Organisationsfrom every industry and sector willcontinue their digital transformations,leading to sustained demand for

development and digital specialists.Likewise business intelligence,automation and data managementprofessionals will be sought to helpcompanies rebuild services andproducts around customer behaviour.recruitment market remained buoyant in2018. As Australians head to the pollingbooths in 2019, employers will hopethat the next government does not putthe brakes on hiring flexible workforcesto deal with short-term supply issues.FINANCE REGULATIONTIGHTENSAs in Washington and London, antiimmigration rhetoric has reverberatedalong the corridors of power inWellington and Canberra during 2018.The banking and financial servicessector in Australia felt the sting ofmedia criticism and public discontentduring 2018, as revelations ofmisconduct were laid bare by theRoyal Commission. Consequently, theregulatory crackdown will continuein 2019, with the number of riskand compliance roles substantiallyoutstripping supply.ADVICE FOR EMPLOYERSGiven the shortage of local talent inmany sectors, 2019 is shaping up to bea challenging year for hiring managers.Part of the answer will lie in the powerof networks: knowing where the marketis heading, who the talent is, where tofind them and how to secure them.Overall, heading into 2019, we believethe Australian and New Zealand hiringmarket remains in good shape.Many of the ingredients are in place fora positive year and, after a few yearsof modest wage rises, pressure isgathering for a long-awaited uptick insalaries.”James NicholsonManaging DirectorAustralia & New ZealandThe skylines of most majorcities in Australia and NewZealand are currently dottedwith cranes, as nationalinfrastructure projectscontinue.Some employers fear their growthcould be stifled by further restrictionsupon hiring overseas talent. In 2019,we hope economic pragmatism willprevail over populism.The other essential part will be tothink long-term: hiring and traininggraduates with the right aptitude, aswell as upskilling existing personnel. Forexample, with new or emerging rolessuch as conduct risk managers thereare very few experienced specialistsin the market. Employers may need torespond by training existing personnelto identify and mitigate risk.POLITICAL OUTLOOKIn New Zealand there was concernthat the new government may dentbusiness confidence, however the 15

EUROPE2018 TRENDS“The European recruitment marketwent from strength to strength in2018. Overall hiring levels were high,underpinned by a growing economy,increased investor confidence inthe eurozone and UK-based rolestransferring to the region due toBrexit, all of which led to businessesaggressively hiring new talent.In France, the strong market conditionsof 2017 continued into 2018 withcompanies actively recruiting acrossthe market. The economic climatewas reinforced by a business friendlygovernment easing employmentregulations. This bolstered confidenceleading to investment across all sectors.In particular, the number of constructionprojects increased. The demand16Robert Walters Salary Survey 2019for engineering and supply chainprofessionals was also high thanks tolarge-scale investment in new plantsand factories. As a consequence, HR,legal and finance professionals were inhigh demand.The continued economic upturn inthe Netherlands led to an extremelycandidate driven market at all levels ofseniority, with shortages most apparentat the junior to mid-level. In an attemptto attract talent early, high-potentialstudents were beginning to be offeredcontracts for finance and banking roleswhilst still at university.In Belgium, recruitment levels remainedhigh as businesses expanded inresponse to the positive economicclimate. There was also strong demandOur presence in Europe: rtugalSpainSwitzerlandfor bilingual candidates, especially foraccountants and customer servicesspecialists.Hiring levels increased in Irelandresulting in high demand for candidatesacross multiple specialisms.

In response, businesses focusedon reducing time to hire, improvingemployer brand, staff retention andbenefits packages whilst offering moreremote and flexible working options.The biggest issue for the region will bekeeping up with demand as candidateshortages are already present and areexpected to intensify over the next12 months.Switzerland saw minimal shifts in hiringvolumes in 2018 with only a couple ofpockets of increased activity. The luxurysector had a more positive outlook incomparison to 2017 and the financialservices industry saw an increase incorporate banking hiring from both localand international companies.In the Netherlands, hiring shortages willbecome more acute across all sectorsbut will also move upward in seniority.Within finance, the standardisationof financial processes will decreasethe demand for operational andtransactional professionals and increasethe demand for candidates with stronganalytical capabilities.Confidence in the German economycontinued to rise which led to significanthiring activity across a vast array ofdisciplines. In Frankfurt, banking andfinancial services hiring across risk,audit, finance, compliance, legal andregulation increased as roles weretransferred from the UK due to Brexit.Outside of financial services, we saw acontinued trend for digitalisation both inmarketing and technology.In 2018 Spain benefited from thepositive macroeconomic situation inEurope. Hiring was strongest in theinformation technology, manufacturing,energy and construction sectors wherebusinesses focused on hiring engineersand digital transformation specialists.English speaking professionals werehighly sought after as companiesstrengthened their accounting andhuman resources functions.The demand for new hires in Franceshows no sign of slowing down, butthis must be considered within thecontext of growing skills shortageswhich will once again drive up salaries.HR professionals are most likely to behighly sought after, as in all sectorscompanies are becoming acutelyaware of the need to retain employees,especially those at a senior level.In Belgium, we expect organisationsto continue to expand and createnew jobs. The demand for bilingualcandidates will remain high, especiallyin the Brussels region. The Belgianlabour market will remain candidatedriven, with hiring managers needingto move quickly and be more flexible inorder to secure top talent. As pressureon talent pools continues to increase,employers will need to raise salariesof highly sought-after professionals inorder to remain competitive.In Ireland, the job market will remainstrong, with hiring continuing acrossmost sectors. Britain’s departure fromthe EU will lead to an extremely highdemand for regulatory professionalsacross the risk, compliance, legal andfinance sectors, leading to a persistentskills shortage. Securing and retainingtop talent will mean offering competitivesalaries, but employers will also needto focus on promoting their brand andcompany culture.In Spain, the employment marketwill continue to be buoyant as IT andengineering businesses continue to hireat great pace. We also expect to seemore hiring activity across finance, legaland HR as many small businesses growand larger players try to defend theirmarket position.”Antoine MorgautCEOEurope & South America2019 FORECASTEurope is expected to continue itsstrong economic growth in 2019,resulting in a favourable recruitmentmarket with confidence remaining highamong professionals and employers. 17

GREATER CHINA“In 2018, we witnessed strongeconomic growth across the GreaterChina region and an overall optimisticoutlook which drove an increase inhiring activity.Technology is fundamentally changingthe hiring landscape across the regionas businesses seek to digitaliseand become more technologicallyadvanced. Hiring managers arecompeting to secure recruits froma limited pool of candidates withexperience in high-tech and digitaltransformation projects. IT professionalsin several specialist areas, including AI,business intelligence, cyber security,automation and analytics continued tobe in high demand throughout 2018.18Robert Walters Salary Survey 2019MAINLAND CHINASupported by various national initiativessuch as Manufacturing 2025, Belt andRoad and ‘Internet Plus’, MainlandChina’s outbound investment anddevelopment of innovative technologymaintained an upward trajectory in2018. Demand for top-tier talent in highend technology such as virtual reality(VR), AI, Internet of Things (IoT) andmachine learning dramatically exceededsupply as businesses fought to attractindividuals with relevant experience.Mainland China is now one of theleading global investors in digitaltechnologies and e-commerce.Previously, China’s e-commerceindustry had a stronger domesticfocus but we are now seeinge-commerce businesses expandingOur presence in Greater China: BeijingShanghaiSuzhouSouthern ChinaHong KongTaipeiboth regionally and globally. As aresult, many companies across a widerange of industries have been seekingprofessionals who are both familiarwith global business and proficient inEnglish, putting the level of demandfor bilingual talent at an all-time high,in particular for those with internationalexperience.

At the same time, the Southern Chinaregion is now known as MainlandChina’s open innovation centre and ishome to technological leaders as wellas many digital start-ups. The heavyinvestment in data and research centreshas driven demand for talent, not onlyfrom other parts of Mainland China butalso other countries in Asia and acrossthe world.HONG KONGHong Kong started 2018 with robusteconomic growth and buoyantrecruitment levels, supported by solidglobal demand for Hong Kong productsand services, a rebound in visitornumbers and a strong economy inMainland China. At the same time, theGuangdong-Hong Kong-Macao BayArea and the Belt and Road initiativesare encouraging strategic partnershipswithin the region and a flow of talentbetween Hong Kong and MainlandChina.Financial institutions and companiesacross different industries sought toactively increase headcount, withbusinesses often hiring for severalpositions at once, in contrast to theprevious five years when simultaneousrecruitment was only seen in nicheareas.TAIWANTaiwan continued to grow at a steadypace as it has done over the pastdecade. The country also sustainedstrong export momentum in 2018and there were signs of recovery inthe retail sector. Job volumes grewconsiderably across multinational andlocal companies in 2018.The Taiwan government isimplementing a Green Energy Industriesand Technological Innovation plan toboost renewable energy development,leading to international w

ABOUT THE SALARY SURVEY 9 ABOUT THE SALARY SURVEY Welcome to the 20th edition of the Robert Walters annual Salary Survey. As the first recruitment company to produce a comprehensive overview of global salaries and recruitment trends across the world, we are pleased to share the latest edition with you. Our Salary Survey is based on the