Hong Kong workforce sees lowest pay hike since 2008: Survey

Salary increments this year only averaged +0.4%, according to JobsDB.

The average salary adjustment amongst Hong Kong workforce recorded a +0.4% increment this year, the lowest since JobsDB’s Salary Survey in 2008.

Of the 4,288 respondents surveyed, 34% reported receiving a pay rise, 16% less compared to 2020; whilst 55% said they faced salary freeze, reflecting an increase of 15% against last year.

The remaining 11% reported their salary decreased during the year, 10% more than in 2020.

Pay cuts were particularly higher in the hospitality and tourism industry (-8%), Retail Sales (-6.4%), and Food and Beverage (-4%). Meanwhile, those in digital marketing and e-commerce space saw increases of around +3-3.8%.

JobsDB noted the survey also found job advertisements in tourism, retail sales, food and beverage and customer service also dropped by 26%, forcing workers in said industries to switch careers.

Changing job functions, according to the survey, did not necessarily result in lower salaries.

Workers with 3-5 years (69%) and 6-10 years (65%) of work experience reported receiving pay increases; whilst 61% of those with ten years of job history saw their salary decrease.

Moreover, the survey found that workers today are more conservative when it comes to their employment outlook, in light of the economic impact of the pandemic.

"After a tumultuous year, there has been some revealing employment trends in 2021. Majority of surveyed employees resigned after getting an offer,” JobsDB Hong Kong CEO Isaac Shao said.

“Compared to pre-COVID-19 survey’s data of 36% resigned before getting a job offer in 2019, we can conclude that employees hold a conservative attitude towards the employment outlook.”

Joblessness in Hong Kong peaked in February when the unemployment rate hit 7.2%. It started declining in March to 6.8% and further in April when it dropped to 6.4%.

Amongst the main reasons why workers are leaving their current job functions include the lack of jobs opportunities in their original job functions (24%), more attractive career prospects in other job functions (18%) and declining career prospect in their current field (12%).

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