Companies in Bangladesh may hike wages by 10 percent in 2019, says a recent survey by Mercer.

According to the global consulting firm’s 2018 Bangladesh Total Remuneration Survey, the rise in salary will be across industries and levels.

This is consistent with the increase in salaries in 2017 and 2018, it said adding nearly 38 percent of organisations in the country are also increase the number of workers they hire.

The report found that the highest attrition rate in 2018 was in the consumer goods and life sciences industries.

The retail and wholesale sector had the lowest rise in salary at 9 percent in 2018, said New York-based Mercer.

The study was conducted across industries and involved the participation of over 90 organisations in consumer goods, life sciences, chemical manufacturing, high-tech, retail, wholesale and banking and financial services.

“A strong and consistent GDP growth of 7% per year over the last three years has led to expanded employment opportunities and consequently competition for talent, which has further led to double digit increments, a positive hiring outlook and the need to manage increasing levels of attrition,” said Shanti Naresh, Mercer’s career and regional practice leader of workforce rewards for the Asia, Middle East and Africa region.