34% of Hong Kong firms plan to increase recruitment next year: survey
Economic growth drives ‘cautious optimism’ for job market improvement, despite talent challenges and adoption of AI to optimise headcount
More than a third of Hong Kong employers plan to hire more staff in 2026, according to a survey by a leading recruitment consultancy firm, which attributes the “cautious optimism” to the city’s improving macroeconomic environment.
The latest edition of the Robert Walters Global Salary Survey, unveiled on Thursday, also found that 58 per cent of about 200 organisations polled had introduced artificial intelligence in their workplaces, with 49 per cent using it to optimise headcount.
Conducted in September, the poll revealed that 34 per cent of the city’s employers planned to increase hiring volume in 2026.
John Mullally, managing director for Robert Walters Hong Kong, said the city’s “underlying fundamentals” were one of the major reasons behind the “cautious optimism” in the job market.
“It’s economic growth, so in the third quarter, Hong Kong produced an economic growth of 3.8 per cent, which is its highest since 2023,” he said.
“It’s equity market performance, so you’re looking at the second-best equity market or stock market in the Asia-Pacific after Korea. It’s Hong Kong coming back as a global hub for IPOs; that is the first time that has happened since 2018.”