The year 2011 is about to begin, and at this time every year, the topic of year-end bonuses inevitably becomes a hot topic of discussion, and this year is no exception. According to the "2011 Year-End Bonus Survey Report" by 51job.com, the year-on-year increase in corporate year-end bonus budgets this year is not as high as last year. Specifically, the average increase for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is 13.5%, compared to 30.9% last year. In terms of industries, the average increase in year-end bonuses in the real estate sector has also slowed down, but the financial and high-tech sectors continue to set aside generous bonuses for their employees at the end of the year.
In the rankings of industry growth rates, the financial sector remains at the top, while the real estate sector occupies the second position again this year. However, the report indicates that due to national macro-policy adjustments, the overall salary increase in the real estate sector has slowed down, which has affected the distribution of year-end bonuses to some extent. Additionally, the energy and chemical industries, along with the automotive industry, have entered the fourth and fifth positions respectively, replacing the consumer goods and industrial sectors from last year's list.
Despite being ranked first in the report released by 51job.com, with claims of generous year-end bonuses, it varies depending on specific sub-sectors within finance. Since the beginning of this year, the stock market has continuously fallen, the scale of fund management has shrunk, and the entire financial sector has remained sluggish. As a result, the year-end bonuses for white-collar workers in finance have shown signs of polarization. Generally speaking, banking is considered "stable regardless of conditions," insurance is "consistent and steady," while the fund and securities industries are "weather-dependent."
The banking sector is relatively stable, so bank employees can reliably receive their year-end bonuses. For example, in a certain state-owned bank, employee levels are divided into 25 tiers. A level-six employee who receives an excellent evaluation would get a pre-tax year-end bonus of 56,000 yuan, which is only half of the total amount, with the other half distributed over the next six months. This makes it rare for this employee to receive a 100,000 yuan year-end bonus. Compared to state-owned banks, joint-stock commercial banks have greater incentive mechanisms. According to a wealth management customer manager from a branch of a joint-stock bank, the amount of their year-end bonus is mainly tied to performance metrics, and there is a significant disparity. High-performing employees may even receive higher year-end bonuses than the branch manager, reaching several hundred thousand or even over one million yuan.
This year, the net profit of the securities brokerage industry has significantly declined, directly affecting employees' year-end bonuses, especially those brokers at the bottom tier, who have been more severely impacted. Although there were rumors that CITIC Securities' investment banking department would distribute an 87-month salary as a year-end bonus, this news was quickly denied. Industry insiders calculated that based on the current salary levels and number of employees in CITIC Securities' investment banking department, they would need approximately 700 million yuan just for the year-end bonus for the investment banking team, whereas the profit for this year's investment banking department is around 600 million yuan. Therefore, this rumor seems unreliable. However, it cannot be ruled out that some brokerage firms with better-performing investment banking businesses might have year-end bonuses higher than the industry average.
Additionally, the year-end bonuses in the fund management industry will also experience a "elevator ride." According to the third-quarter reports, the 62 fund management companies collectively lost 251.074 billion yuan. If calculated proportionally, the loss for the entire year could exceed 400 billion yuan. In the past, certain large fund management companies' fund managers and other key research personnel could receive year-end bonuses exceeding one million yuan; in 2007, front-office employees could also receive year-end bonuses of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan. However, it is almost certain that this year's overall shrinkage of public mutual fund industry year-end bonuses will occur. For the insurance industry, this year's complex investment environment will bring significant uncertainty to insurance company returns. Nevertheless, some insurance companies might maintain the same year-end bonus standards as last year to retain talent.
Overall, the "white-collar elites" who have traditionally been favored may find their wallets lighter this year-end compared to previous years, and the polarization between different levels within the industry has become more pronounced.