EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES BRACE FOR CONSERVATIVE SALARY RAISES

Hong Kong SAR, 26 Mar 2024 – Hays, the global leader in workforce solutions and specialist recruitment released the 2024 Hays Asia Salary Guide which surveyed 690 skilled professionals and 256 employers from Hong Kong SAR. The guide compiles salary and sector overviews based on real data and a survey of skilled professionals across China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Employers saw a shift towards more conservative estimates, with more companies looking to give raises of up to 6% this year. Meanwhile, employers looking to give raises above 6% fell in comparison to 2023.

31.3% of employers surveyed reflected plans to increase salaries by up to 3%, while 38.9% said they intended to increase salaries by 3-6%. Only 14.4% said they expect salaries to remain the same, which is lower than the 25.2% reported for the previous year. 57.9% of employers also indicated plans to give bonuses in 2024, compared to 58.4% in 2023.

The largest shift in employee expectations compared to last year was for raises above 10%, with expectations dropping from 22.0% to 14.6%. There was also a dip in expectations for raises between 6 and 10%, from 13.1% to 12.2% while expectations for raises up to 3% fell from 22.7% to 22%. Expectations grew instead for increments between 3 and 6% (from 25.4 to 29.3%), as well as among those expecting no salary changes at all (from 14.6% to 18.0%) and pay cuts (from 2.2% to 3.9%).

Faced with slower economic growth projections this year, both employers and employees are preparing for the repercussions on earnings and operational costs,” said Sue Wei, Managing Director at Hays Greater China. “Companies and workforces will need to be flexible to navigate these challenges amid rising skill shortages.”

On the hiring front, most employers in Hong Kong SAR expect permanent staff levels to stay the same, with 27.8% anticipating an increase. 15.5% plan to hire more contract staff in 2024.

About Hays Hong Kong SAR

Hays Specialist Recruitment Hong Kong is the one of the leading specialist recruitment companies in Hong Kong SAR in recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people across a wide range of industries and professions.

Hays has been in Hong Kong SAR for over a decade and boasts a track record of success and growth. At Hays in Hong Kong SAR, we operate across the private and public sector, dealing in permanent and contracting positions, and workforce solutions such as recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Programmes (MSP) in the following specialisms: Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Construction, Digital Technology, Engineering, Finance Technology, Human Resources, Information Technology, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Marketing & Digital, Office Professionals, Property, Procurement, Supply Chain, Sustainability and Sales. We continue to strengthen our position in Asia with the world-leading ISO 9001:2015 certification in all our operational markets including Hong Kong SAR, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.