Research from Mercer finds that rising housing costs and attraction of expats makes the city more expensive.
By Maggie Mancini
Mercer recently released its 2024 Cost of City Ranking to offer insights to help multinational employers plan compensation strategies for their international assignees. Hong Kong retained the top spot in this year’s ranking of the most expensive cities, followed by Singapore, and Swiss cities Zurich, Geneva, and Basel.
“Cost-of-living challenges have had a significant impact on multinational organisations and their employees,” says Yvonne Traber, Mercer’s global mobility leader. “It’s important for organisations to stay informed about cost-of-living trends and inflation rates and seek input from employees on these issues to effectively manage their effects.”
Rising housing costs in many cities around the world have made talent mobility a challenge for employers. Volatile inflation trends are also eroding the purchasing power of international assignees and putting additional strain on their compensation packages. These factors can make it difficult for employers to attract and retain top talent and can increase compensation and benefits expenses, limit talent mobility, and raise operational costs.
Asia has the top two cities with the highest cost of living, primarily driven by high rental accommodation costs. These important economic hubs also attract many expatriates, further raising the cost of goods. Rising inflation is expected to put pressure on international employees this year. Sydney, Australia ranks as one of the costliest cities in the APAC region, outrunning Noumea, New Caledonia, which has moved up 10 places to 60 in the global ranking.
