Robert Walters Salary Survey 2025: Talent in High Demand with Thai Employees Seeking New Jobs, Flexible Hours, and Better Pay in 2025

Key overview for Thailand 2025

• Talent is in high demand in Thailand in 2025.
• Employers are planning to provide pay rises across sectors, but they are struggling to meet salary expectations in competitive markets.
• The top benefits and perks being offered to employees include training and development courses, extended health insurance benefits, and flexible working hours.
• Retention has become a key priority due to the intense competition in recruitment.
• Professionals value pay above all else, with flexible hours being a strong consideration.
• The majority of employees hope to change jobs in 2025, creating an open recruitment playing field.
• Employers are looking for employees with strong critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
• AI's role in recruitment is growing - streamlining the process and increasing demand for employees who can utilise this technology effectively.

In-demand roles for 2025

Demand for talent is forecasted to be high across most sectors. Skill shortages and the growth of industries are key factors determining the levels of demand and the specific talents that are highly sought after. In Thailand, there is high demand for plant directors and managers, operations managers, as well as individuals with expertise in quality and R&D. This demand is particularly prominent in expanding industries such as food manufacturing, FMCG, and automotive.

HR business partners and learning and development experts are also highly sought after. In the evolving healthcare sector, there is a specific demand for sales and marketing professionals who can support areas such as product marketing and market access. Meanwhile, the launch of virtual banking licenses by the Bank of Thailand in 2025 will serve as a catalyst for talent demand across various positions in the banking and financial services sector.

Among employers, soft skills are highly valued, with positive attitude and resilience rating the highest at 56%. This is followed by 51% seeking leadership and team collaboration skills, and 49% prioritising problem-solving and critical thinking abilities.

There is also an increasing demand for employees who are fluent in Chinese, particularly in sectors such as engineering, supply chain, and HR. This demand stems from the expansion of Chinese companies into Thailand.

Greater tech adoption in the hiring market

Some companies are turning to technology tools to address the challenges in the hiring market. However, widespread adoption is hindered by limited resources, infrastructure, and skills. AI is being leveraged to assist professionals in their work, which in turn impacts the required skillsets. As a result, there is an increased demand for employees who possess the ability to work with AI integration, particularly in the accounting and finance sector.

Punyanuch Sirisawadwattana, Country Manager of Robert Walters Thailand highlights the increasing role tech is playing in recruitment. "Most companies are utilising technology to streamline their hiring, employing digital platforms to automate parts of the process such as job postings and interview scheduling. Virtual interviews and online assessments have also become the norm, allowing companies to reach a wider pool of candidates without geographical constraints. However, we can notice that the use of AI is still limited mostly to tech and recruitment businesses such as job portals or multinational recruitment firms."

Talent attraction and retention

With talent attraction being increasingly competitive, and employees seeking to change jobs in 2025, companies are not only putting resources into higher salaries but also investing in retention. Given Thailand's current economic recovery, employers and potential employees alike are exercising caution and adopting a risk-averse mindset.

Offering attractive benefits to employees will be a key focus in the coming year, with perks and initiatives aimed at keeping employees motivated and engaged. In addition to salary, 85% of employees regard a bonus scheme as an essential benefit. This is followed by 63% wanting flexible hours and remote working arrangements, and 60% interested in extended health insurance. In terms of what professionals value from an employer, excellent compensation and benefits takes the lead with 46%, followed by inspiring colleagues and culture (38%) and flexible working (34%).

They are also keen to work with companies that are innovative and embrace digital transformation, while also offering stability and career progression, especially those in the younger generation.

In 2025, a majority of professionals, comprising over 80%, actively seek new job opportunities, showcasing their desire for growth and advancement. Moreover, 79% express confidence in the job prospects available to them, indicating a positive outlook on the future employment landscape.

Over 46% of employers consider salary and benefits expectations as the biggest challenge in attracting talent. Other notable issues include a lack of applications (41%) and a lack of industry experience (37%). On the other hand, over 50% of employers view high competition for talent, where employees are frequently approached for new roles, as the primary challenge in retaining talent. Additional concerns in this area include limited advancement and career growth opportunities for employees (38%) and difficulty offering competitive pay and benefits (34%).

Punyanuch advises companies to focus on creating a more streamlined, positive hiring journey and shorter hiring processes. She also highlights the importance of employee engagement through the creation of a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, flexible perks, and recognition and reward programs.

Larger pay bumps for experienced candidates

Job-match skills can expect salary increases of up to 20%, while scarce talent areas such as automation and robotics may see even higher increments. For those securing positions that require training or elements of onboarding, the rise is likely to be up to 15%. Employees who remain in their current positions should anticipate a growth of between 2-4% in 2025.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that a significant 70% of talented individuals are expecting a pay rise in 2025. This aligns with the intentions of over three-quarters of employers across various sectors who plan to provide pay raises to their employees in the upcoming year.

The Robert Walters Salary Survey is available at www.robertwalters.co.th/salarysurvey.html.