Japanese companies operating in Thailand are considering raising wages by an average 4.4 percent this year, according to an annual survey by NNA.

Of 403 Japanese companies surveyed, 305 firms, or 75.7 percent, plan to implement wage hikes for workers and those in managerial positions.

The average rate by which salaries increase is likely to drop 0.1 percentage point from the previous year, but its medial figure is expected to rise from 4.5 percent to 4.8 percent, the poll shows.

Many of the companies will carry out wage hikes in January or April.

By sector, services will post the highest rate of 5.2 percent, followed by trading houses at 5.1 percent, manufacturers at 4 percent, steels and metals at 3.7 percent and textiles at 3.5 percent.

Japanese companies in Thailand, the largest manufacturing base for them in Southeast Asia, increase wages by taking into account such factors as workers' performance, work attitudes and inflation rates.

Of all the firms polled, 209, or 51.9 percent, responded that current wage levels are acceptable, while 131, or 32.5 percent, answered that levels even up to 20 percent higher than the current ones are acceptable.

As labor costs are on the rise in Thailand, the region's second-largest economy, many Japanese companies are contemplating cutting costs by enhancing job efficiency and reducing the number of Japanese workers, the survey shows.