China, Thailand and Vietnam tops in unequal pay

May 8, 2008, 10:12 GMT

Singapore - China, Thailand and Vietnam have the largest gaps between low- and high-paid workers in the world, according to a global study released Thursday by a management consulting firm.

Management last year made 11.8 times more than average staff in China, where the pay gap grew from 10.5 the year before, the Hay Group said. The rise pushed China from third place to first in the world rankings.

Vietnam's pay gap narrowed from 11.7 to 9.8, improving its rankings from the worst to third.

Thailand remained second as it saw its pay gap rise from 10.6 in 2006 to 10.7 in 2007.

The Hays Group calculated the pay gaps by taking the median base salary for managers and dividing it by the median base salary for employees in trades, administration and entry-level jobs.

More than 12 million employees' salaries from 61 countries were considered.

'The gap between management and clerical employees was most pronounced in emerging economies, where the overwhelming demand for management talent is inflating senior salaries far beyond the local market for junior ones,' the report said.

'As is the case globally, the shortage of management talent in these economies has pushed up salaries at the top end while the less internationally mobile junior staff are paid in line with local market rates,' it noted.

The gap also reflected the divide in skills and capabilities between senior executives and clerical employees, the report said.

Within the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea (3.7), New Zealand (3.3), Japan (3.3) and Australia (3.2) were among the countries with the smaller pay gaps. Singapore's pay gap was 4.7 last year, down from 4.9 in 2006.

The smallest pay gaps were found in Norway (2.3), Canada (2.6) and Switzerland (2.6).

The US gap widened from 3.1 to 3.7, making it the third-fastest growing pay gap in the world.