Chinese enterprises expect an average salary increase of 9.3 percent next year, consulting firm Towers Watson said in a report.

The growth rate is a bit lower than the 9.6 percent for 2012, the report said.

"As retaining talented staff is becoming increasingly difficult these days, most enterprises have been striving to offer staff a competitive salary, but the inflationary pressure should not be under estimated," said Xu Wenzong, general manager of Towers Watson China.

Geographically, in high-tech areas such as Shenzhen and Dongguan, salary expectations hit 10 percent, higher than the national average.

huyuanyuan@chinadaily.com.cn

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