Hong Kong reopening: bosses are in the mood to hire, offering higher salaries to fill vacancies as visitors return, KPMG says

Two in five executives in Hong Kong expect to increase their headcount this year, according to KPMG’s survey of 1,300 professionals in Hong Kong and mainland China

The sectors covered in the poll were consumer markets, information technology (IT), financial services, professional services, real estate and the civil service

Reading Time:3 minutes

The Exploring New Opportunities job fair organised by Hong Kong’s Labour Department, at the MacPherson Stadium in Mong Kok on 8 March 2023. Photo: May Tse

Published: 11:30am, 23 Mar 2023Updated: 12:01pm, 23 Mar 2023

Hong Kong companies are back in the mood to hire, especially in the consumer and information technology sectors, as the city embarks on its economic recovery following the border reopening with mainland China, according to a report by KPMG.

Two in five senior executives in Hong Kong expect to increase their headcount this year, according to KPMG’s salary outlook survey, which polled over 1,300 professionals across six sectors in Hong Kong and mainland China.

The six sectors covered in the January survey were consumer markets, information technology (IT), financial services, professional services, real estate and the civil service.

“The worst time of the pandemic is already behind us,” said Peter Shiu Ka-fai, who represents the retail industry constituency in Hong Kong’s legislature. “There is a strong demand to hire more people, and the manpower crunch is one of our biggest challenges. A [salary premium] of up to 20 per cent is no surprise for companies trying to attract new hires.”

A troupe of tourists from mainland China at the Avenue of the Stars promenade at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront on 15 March 2023. Photo: May Tse

The rush to fill vacancies pushed the city’s unemployment rate down to a three-year low of 3.3 per cent during the December-to-February rolling period, according to the Census and Statistics Department.