The good news for Hong Kong workers this Christmas is that pay is likely to increase next year, and more than 40% of companies are hiring, according to new research from human-resources consultancy Mercer.

The bad news is that Hong Kongers were nearly at the bottom of the pile in Asia-Pacific when it came to pay increases, above only Japan.

Hong Kongers’ average salary rose 3.1% in 2010 and is forecast to increase 3.4% in 2011, said Mercer. Cross-border envy may increase, as salaries rose 8.2% in Shanghai and 8.1% in Beijing, although the base pay is probably lower for workers in the mainland, and inflation there, for now, is worse than in Hong Kong.

Employees in health-care services continued to receive the highest salary increases among the industries surveyed in the territory, which included telecommunications, chemicals, consumer goods, engineering and logistics.

Mercer surveyed 15 markets across Asia, and 350 multinational companies responded in Hong Kong.

根据人力资源咨询公司美世（Mercer）最新进行的研究，今年圣诞节香港员工的好消息是明年工资可能将上调，而且超过40%的企业正在招聘。

但坏消息是，香港员工的工资增幅在亚太地区中几乎垫底，仅高于日本。

美世公布，2010年香港员工平均工资增长3.1%，2011年料将增长3.4%。上海和北京员工分别增长8.2%和8.1%，香港员工可能更加羡慕中国内地员工了，但中国内地基本工资可能较低，而且目前的通胀情况比香港还要恶劣。

在香港受访的各个行业里，医疗保健服务业员工的工资增幅仍是最高的，此次调查还涉及电信、化学、消费品、工程和物流行业。

美世调查了亚洲的15个市场，香港350家跨国企业作出了回应。