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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council Secretariat (the Secretariat) today (June 7) released a Research Brief on "Challenges of Manpower Adjustment in Hong Kong".
A steady job market is of utmost importance for both livelihood of people and stability of the society. In Hong Kong, the overall unemployment rate rose to a two-year high of 3.4 per cent in early 2016. In view of worsening business performance in retail trade, restaurants and hotels and construction, employment outlook is likely to stay cautious in the near term. Lower-skilled occupations are expected to face greater retrenchment pressure.
In parallel with the work fragmentation trend, the total number of casual employees, part-time employees and self-employed persons in Hong Kong rose by 40 per cent over 1999 to about 524 000 in 2015. This flexible workforce is generally subject to greater job insecurity, less statutory employment benefits and lower employment income than permanent employees.
The proportion of local workforce with degree education has risen from 9 per cent to 29 per cent during 1994-2015, but less than half of them could take up managerial and professional jobs at the top in recent years. As creation of high-end jobs cannot keep pace with manpower supply amidst slow progress in structural change in the local economy towards knowledge-based activities, more workers with degree education need to take up lower-skilled occupations and inevitably result in a large wage discount. The wide pay differential may in turn cause career disappointment amongst some degree holders in the younger generation.
Slower economic growth in Hong Kong has implications for both the career paths and social mobility for the youngsters nowadays. A study revealed that the university graduates born in the mid-1960s could attain median monthly employment earnings of HK$33,500 at constant (2013) market prices at the age of 35-39. However, the respective median university graduates born in the mid-1970s could make only HK$26,100 when they reached the same age group. For the degree holders born in the mid-1980s, their median level of monthly employment income was the lowest compared with their counterparts in earlier generations.
Entrepreneurship is a key driver for economic growth and job creation, but the proportion of employers in local workforce has almost halved over the past two decades to just 3 per cent in 2015. In particular, the proportion of younger persons aged 34 and below amongst the local employers has shrunk from 25 per cent to 9 per cent during 1991-2015. Waning local entrepreneurship can be attributed to diminishing opportunities in manufacturing and trading sectors, reduced appetite for risk-taking, high property rentals and funding constraints. While the government has announced a number of measures providing financial assistance to technology start-ups more recently, overseas entrepreneurship studies suggest that focus should be placed more on creating a facilitative regulatory environment and level playing field for nurturing sustainable start-ups in all economic sectors, rather than a specific segment of economic activity.
This is the fourth issue of the Research Brief for 2015-2016 prepared by the Secretariat's Research Office of the Information Services Division with a view to enhancing information support for Members. It is a concise summary aiming at explaining a subject matter which may be of interest to Members and the general public.
The Research Brief is now available on the Legislative Council Website at www.legco.gov.hk/research-publications/english/1516rb04-challenges-of-manpower-adjustment-in-hong-kong-20160607-e.pdf.
Ends/Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Issued at HKT 19:20
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