Hong Kong’s employment market continues to display positive signs of growth

18 August 2014: Michael Page, part of global recruitment firm PageGroup, has today released the 2014/15 Michael Page Hong Kong Employee Intentions Report.

Hong Kong’s employment market continues to display positive signs of growth and remains highly attractive to jobseekers. Employers in high growth sectors, particularly digital, will have the opportunity to tap into the talent pool with the predicted high level of job seeking activity indicated by respondents in these sectors. However, while employees express optimism with regard to available job prospects, many remain slightly cautious in their view towards finding a new role, according to findings in the 2014/15 Michael Page Hong Kong Employee Intentions Report.

In particular:

• 55% of survey respondents indicate that they are likely or very likely to change roles in the next 12 months, with professionals from the digital sector making up the largest group of survey respondents who expect to change roles within the next year (75%).
• 63% of respondents have not received a promotion in the past 2 years and 66% indicate that they are not expecting to receive a promotion within the next 12 months. Furthermore, 67% of respondents reveal that they are not intending to ask for a promotion in the next 12 months.
• Almost half of survey respondents state that their average working hours have increased or significantly increased (45%). Of those, 47% of respondents indicate that increased working hours are due to business growth.
• Despite the perceived availability of opportunities in the current job market, many job seekers in Hong Kong remain cautious in their view towards finding a new job. Some 62% of respondents express the view that it will be competitive to find a job in the current market, with 26% indicating that they are not likely to move out of their current role within the next 12 months.
• An increase in salary is the top motivating factor for professionals looking for a new job (40%), an 11% increase as compared to the 2013/14 Hong Kong Employee Intentions Report.

 “Jobseekers and employees continue to display confidence in Hong Kong’s professional employment market and this is outlined by strong salary expectations and jobseeker intentions in the 2014/15 Michael Page Hong Kong Employee Intentions Report”, says Andy Bentote, Managing Director, PageGroup, Hong Kong and Southern China. “We have also seen consistently stable recruitment activity across our Hong Kong offices which is likely to be sustained through the next 12 months.”

The full report is available at the Michael Page Hong Kong News & Research Centre.

Andy Bentote is available for interview if you would like to discuss the report findings in further detail.