The "Mercer's 2021 Cost of Living Ranking," released by Mercer (LLC), was created to help multinational firms and governments decide compensation strategies for their expatriate personnel. Housing, transportation, food, clothes, home items, and entertainment costs were used to calculate the ranking.
With the exception of Lao PDR, the poll ranked 209 cities around the world, including 10 cities from nine ASEAN countries:
Companies are rethinking their methods for managing mobile workforces in the post-pandemic world as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, which has hastened changes in global mobility patterns and practices. High prices remain one of the biggest barriers to mobility, according to Mercer's 2020 Worldwide International Assignment Policies & Practices survey.
Companies are seeking for ways to replace traditional long-term assignments with less expensive types of mobility, such as one-way transfers, short-term assignments, and foreigners hired abroad or locally. They're also putting virtual assignments to the test.
At the same time, remote and hybrid working, which was compelled by the pandemic, has grown in favor as the preferred answer for many employees who now demand to be able to work from anywhere.
Understanding the cost of living in other regions is critical for firms building up compensation packages and employees concerned about their spending power abroad, especially with the advent of remote working and the increasing need for employee-requested relocation.
The necessity of monitoring currency fluctuations and measuring inflationary and deflationary pressures on goods, services, and lodging in all operational areas is highlighted in our Cost of Living Survey. However, the most recent data suggest that the epidemic caused few substantial price variations since governments around the world took various actions, such as decreasing or ceasing to collect value-added tax for a period of time.
Source: Mercer.co.in
