Hong Kong employers to raise salaries, expand workforce in 2024

Employers across Hong Kong are anticipating an increase in average salaries as they seek to expand their workforce in the coming year, according to a new report.

The latest survey from JobsDB Hong Kong, which polled 407 corporations across the financial hub, found that employers are expecting to raise salaries by 2.2% in the coming year.

This is an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the 1.6% in 2023, according to JobsDB. The top three industries with the highest anticipated salary growth rates include:

• Building and Construction (4.4%)
• Food Beverage (4.2%)
• FinTech (Non-Cryptocurrency) (3.9%)

Expanding workforce

The findings come as 30% of employers plan to expand their full-time workforce in the first quarter of 2024, despite 69% admitting to several recruitment challenges such as:

• Difficult to recruit capable talent (60%)
• Raised expectations for salary and benefits (58%)
• Difficulty in recruiting experienced talent (48%)

These recruitment challenges echo previous reports that Hong Kong employers are struggling to find talent.

Bill Lee, managing director of JobsDB Hong Kong, said these challenges prevail despite an uptick in job applications this year.

The situation indicates a "skills mismatch in Hong Kong's workforce," Lee said in a statement.

Addressing the talent crunch

To fill their gaps in their workforce, the report found that more than half (51%) of the respondents are prioritising "attractive salary" to attract more talent.

Another 29% said they are promoting work-life balance as well as good working environment and facilities to lure jobseekers.

The number of employers adopting four or 4.5 working days per week also increased by six percentage points annually, suggesting growing focus on work-life balance by employers, according to the report.

And with employers struggling to find talent in Hong Kong, 63% of the respondents said they are planning to engage mainland talent.

Another 60% of employers said they want to recruit talent overseas, while another eight per cent said they plan to relocate a portion of their operations to different regions.

'Special retention measures'

Meanwhile, the JobsDB report further found that 78% of employers are implementing "Special Retention Measures" to ensure their current employees' loyalty to the organisation. These measures include:

• Offering pay raises (44%)
• Enhancing benefits (44%)

Lee said while employers are using different methods to expand their workforce, they should also invest resources and provide more skills training opportunities for current employees.

Recent findings overseas showed that supporting the career progression and training of employees, particularly frontline staff, could make them stay for a decade or more.

According to Lee, employers can also implement internship programmes to nurture new talents within the organisation who can eventually fill the functional needs in the future.

"When employees perceive that the company is investing in their growth, it not only elevates morale but also fosters a sense of belonging and reduces turnover rates," Lee said.