More than 60% of Hong Kongers receive pay hikes: report

The average increase stood at 4.1%, the highest in the last four years. 

More than 60% of full-time workers in Hong Kong received a pay hike, which is up from 53% in the previous year, JobsDB reported. 

The average salary increase stood at 4.1%, which is the highest increase in the past four years. This also marks the third consecutive year Hong Kong’s job market saw a pay hike.  

The report noted that the proportion of salary freezes (35%) and pay cuts (4%) also decreased by 6 percentage points and 2 percentage points respectively since last year.

Moreover, more than 75% of workers also received double pay or bonuses. This represents a 4-point increase from the previous year. 

Read more: Job switchers in property, engineering industry expect up to 25% salary increase

Digital-related talent remains in high demand, with “Analytics” (+9.7%), “Digital Marketing, E-Commerce, and Social Media” (+7.3%) and “Information Technology” (+6.6%) claiming the highest pay rises among all job functions. 

Meanwhile, front-line workers who were most affected by the pandemic are finally experiencing positive growth, namely: "Food and Beverage", “Retail Sales” and "Hospitality and Tourism" which recorded a salary increase of 0.6%, 1.2% and 3.2% respectively.

“The pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation, resulting in an increased demand for digital skills. The intensifying 'skills mismatch' situation means that on-the-job training is becoming more important for both employers and employees,” Bill Lee, Managing Director of JobsDB Hong Kong, said.

“Over 90% of entry-level workers even view it as an appealing benefit. Employers providing skills training can not only offer employees more diverse career opportunities and help retain talent, but also fill internal skill gaps more quickly.”