Hong Kong youth being left behind by government’s coronavirus response

Young people with and without jobs are struggling during the pandemic and finding few government programmes capable of meeting their needs

Two-year, interest-free deferral of student loan repayment receives majority support by allowing borrowers to generate savings in turbulent times

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Commuters in face masks going to work at Hong Kong station in Central on April 21. Young people with jobs and those who are unemployed have both suffered economically during the Covid-19 pandemic and have mixed opinions about government programmes intended to help them. Photo: Winson Wong

Justin Chan

Justin Chan is an associate researcher at MWYO, an independent think tank that focuses on youth issues in Hong Kong.

Published: 9:30am, 18 Jun 2020Updated: 1:58pm, 12 Nov 2020

While Hong Kong has been mostly successful in containing the spread of Covid-19, its gross domestic product has plummeted and unemployment has risen sharply. Unemployment tends to hit the young harder than those older, and now is no different. Unemployment among people aged 20 to 24 hit 11.4 per cent for the three months to April, according to the census department.

The reality could be worse. MWYO commissioned the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies to interview 509 Hong Kong residents aged 18 to 34 in May. The survey found 12.4 per cent of the respondents self-reporting unemployment. Among them, nearly 70 per cent expressed little hope of finding a job within the next three months.

Many service workers are unemployed as Hong Kong’s tourist numbers suffered a drop of 99.9 per cent in April compared with last year, with gyms, beauty parlours, bars and other locations under lockdown. How quickly the numbers return to pre-pandemic levels after lockdown measures are lifted is unknown.

To persuade employers to retain workers, the government is giving them financial help through subsidising salary payments for half a year. In return, employers must pledge not to implement redundancies and to spend all subsidies on wages.