The global economic crisis that struck in 2008 had left employees of India with no hopes of salary hikes or remuneration. But now HR consultancy firms have good news for employees. Most of the firms have predicted that employees will see a salary hike of about 8 to 16 percent in the year of 2011. The Telecom and the Pharmaceutical industry are the sectors to see the maximum salary hike reports Samidha Sharma for The Times of India. Global HR consulting firm Mercer says it has revised its forecasts for 2011. "We have made an upward correction in the salary hikes expected next year due to the positive sentiment running across industries at large. The revival in the economy and renewed hiring activity across sectors has contributed to this upward trend. We could be nearing the 2007 levels in terms compensation hikes in 2011," says Shamita Chatterjee, head, information, products and solutions, Mercer Consulting. Accroding to Mercer, the auto, manufacturing and pharma are the hottest sectors of 2011 which will see an average hike of 13 percent. The IT and ITES will also see possible hikes despite high levels of attrition. Shiv Agarwal, CEO, ABC Consultants said ""The big sectors which contributed to the huge hikes in 2007 were IT &ITes and MNCs. The IT & ITes sector is still recovering from the slowdown . Growth will come from the manufacturing sector in general and the power sector in particular." K Sudarshan, managing partner , EMA Partners said that unlike the middle and senior level management which is expected to see double-digit hikes in 2011, the CEO level salaries will see a basic correction of 6-8 percent next year and sectors such as clean technology, infrastructure and wealth management will lead the way in doling out generous hikes.