Hong Kong losing high-skilled jobs

Low-skilled employment on the rise.

Analysts said the phenomenon reflects the weakening market for Hong Kong’s financial services industry and other white-collar sectors. They also believe the reason for the drop in the number of high-skilled positions is weak hiring in the financial sector.

The number of high-skilled jobs fell by 0.9% in the second quarter from a year earlier, following a 2.4% drop in the first quarter. On the other hand, non-professional jobs rose 3.8% in Q2 after rising 4.7% in the first.

Overall, total employment rose 2.5% year-on-year to 3.75 million positions in the second quarter. Of these, 1.38 million are high-skilled jobs while 2.37 million are in the low-skilled segment.

The financial-services industry employs some 20% of Hong Kong’s workforce and contributes a fifth to GDP but its share has been falling. This contrasts to the rapid growth of the retail sector and other blue-collar industries that are boosting GDP growth since more mainland Chinese prefer to shop in Hong Kong.

Recruitment agencies said they’re seeing a decline in middle-management jobs, especially in financial services. They believe that global financial headwinds have made companies more cautious in creating permanent headcount or making replacement hiring, especially in mid to senior positions.

Some experts said demand for non-professional jobs in the retail and services sectors will remain strong for years to come since tourism from mainland China continues to boom.