LCQ3: Enhancing labour force participation rate
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Question:
According to data from the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), Hong Kong's labour force participation rate (excluding foreign domestic helpers) was 54 per cent in the first quarter of this year, a new low in more than 30 years, with the labour force participation rate of women in Hong Kong (excluding foreign domestic helpers) only 47.3 per cent. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has studied the trends and causes of changes in the local labour force participation rate in recent years, as well as the specific effectiveness of various employment support policies aimed at unleashing potential labour force in enhancing the labour force participation rate; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such a study;
(2) given that the number of imported workers has continued to surge in recent years, whether the C&SD will consider adding a statistical item that excludes "foreign domestic helpers and imported workers" in future surveys relating to labour and wages, so as to fully reflect the actual employment situation of local workers; and
(3) to further unleash potential labour force, whether the Government will consider, on the basis of existing measures, allocating more resources to promote family-friendly employment practices, and, by drawing on overseas experience, studying the introduction of flexible work arrangements through legislation?
Reply:
President,
The labour force participation rate (LFPR) is affected by a number of factors, such as demographic structure, economic conditions and societal culture. The Government has all along been adopting a multi-pronged strategy, including providing training and employment support, strengthening child care services, and promoting family-friendly employment practices (FFEPs), to unleash the potential labour force and increase LFPR.
In consultation with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) and the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), a consolidated reply to the Member's question is provided as follows:
(1) The primary reason for the decline in LFPR in Hong Kong is the rapid ageing of population. According to the data from the C&SD, LFPR of persons aged 65 or above (excluding foreign domestic helpers (FDHs)) in Hong Kong in 2025 was about 13 per cent. As a large cohort of post-war baby boomers entered retirement age, the overall LFPR was inevitably pulled down gradually. Nevertheless, with the continuous improvement in education levels, older persons of Hong Kong will participate more actively in the labour market. An upward trend of LFPR of older persons is therefore anticipated.
The female LFPR is also affected by the population ageing trend. According to the data from the C&SD, LFPR of women aged 65 or above (excluding FDHs) in Hong Kong in 2025 was about 9 per cent. The Government has been actively promoting and supporting women's employment in recent years. Coupled with the continuous rise in women's education levels, female LFPRs across different age groups have recorded increases in recent years. Of which, LFPR of women aged 25–54 (excluding FDHs) has risen prominently from 66 per cent in 2005 to 74 per cent in 2025.
To help unleash the potential labour force, the Labour Department (LD) launched the three-year Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme in July 2024 to encourage persons aged 40 or above who have not been in paid work for three consecutive months or more to join the employment market. The response to the scheme is very favourable, with over 81 000 participants and nearly 51 000 placements recorded as at June this year. Of which, persons aged 60 or above and female accounted for about a quarter and about 60 per cent respectively. In tandem, the LD implements the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged to encourage employers to hire persons aged 40 or above and provide them with on-the-job training.
As regards training support, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) provides training and retraining services for the local workforce. Of these, placement-tied courses assist those seeking employment and unemployed in acquiring industry-specific vocational skills to enhance their employability. Training bodies appointed by the ERB provide three- to six-month placement follow-up services to trainees who have completed relevant courses to ascertain their employment status and employment rates, enabling the ERB to continuously review the effectiveness of the courses.
(2) In Hong Kong, there are approximately 350 000 FDHs who mainly work within households. Their wage levels and the nature of their work are fundamentally different from those of local workers. The C&SD compiles and provides separate labour statistics excluding FDHs, so as to more accurately reflect the situation of Hong Kong's general labour market.
However, imported workers are admitted specifically to fill job types with difficulties in local recruitment as well as labour shortages. They provide labour force across various industries as a component of the overall labour market. In terms of remuneration, the Government requires that imported workers must be paid no less than the median wage of the relevant positions. Therefore, imported workers and local workers are within the same economic ecosystem. Excluding the data on imported workers would render the statistics (particularly industry employment figures, labour supply and wage data) unable to fully reflect the actual manpower supply and demand as well as operational conditions of the relevant industries. Moreover, imported workers only constitute a small proportion of the local labour force. Taking into account sampling errors and statistical accuracy, the C&SD is unable to extract imported workers from survey results to specifically compile a separate set of statistics that reflects the situation of local workers only.
(3) The Government motivates and encourages employers to implement FFEPs. The HYAB has all along been supporting the work of the Family Council (the Council) to promote to the general public a culture of loving families as well as more diversified and flexible FFEPs in the community. These measures will help encourage women from different backgrounds and social strata to join or rejoin the workforce. Since 2023-24, the Council has launched a series of promotional videos titled "Family-friendly Workplace", featuring various FFEPs adopted by local companies with sharing by employers and employees. The featured FFEPs include allowing employees to bring their children to work during summer vacation, parental leave, family leave, work-from-home arrangements, flexible work hours, etc. The Council has also collaborated with the Radio Television Hong Kong to produce radio programmes for promoting different FFEPs to the audience. The Council will continue the relevant promotional work.
In addition, the LD is committed to motivating employers to adopt employee-oriented good human resource management and implement FFEPs. This year, the LD is organising again the Good Employer Charter to encourage more employers to participate and adopt FFEPs that are conducive to childcare.
Taking into account the diverse circumstances of enterprises and individual employees, the approach of motivating and encouraging enterprises to flexibly implement FFEPs is more appropriate.
Ends/Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:32
Issued at HKT 14:32
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