Despite having the highest salary satisfaction rates in the region, jobseekers in Hong Kong are becoming increasingly uncertain about job security and the future relevancy of their skills, finds the latest Asia Salary Guide report by leading recruitment experts Hays.

This year marks the 13th edition of the annual Hays Asia Salary Guide, which remains a definitive snapshot of salaries for positions across industries in Asia. The salary and hiring insights, including a thorough market overview of business outlooks, salary policies and recruitment trends, are based on survey responses from close to 6000 working professionals located in the five Hays operating markets in Asia; namely China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.

Highest Salary Satisfaction
Employees in Hong Kong reported the highest salary satisfaction in Asia, with 61 per cent saying they were satisfied with their total compensation package as opposed to the average satisfaction of 55 per cent across Asia. Adding to this sentiment, 36 per cent of employees said they had successfully asked for and received a raise in the last year, the highest such score for Hong Kong in three years and significantly higher than the Asian average of just 24 per cent.

Salary expectations remain high as well, with a significant number of employees (20 per cent) expecting raises of more than 10 per cent. In contrast, only four per cent of employers expect to give out raises in this range, indicating the possibility of mismatched salary expectations in 2020. However, overall expectations remain even, with most employees (54 per cent) and employers (73 per cent) still expecting increments within the 3-6 per cent range in 2020.

Rising Uncertainty Around Job Security and Skills
Despite these positive sentiments, there has been a slow but distinct increase in uncertainty among workers when it comes to the relevancy of their skills. 28 per cent of respondents said they were unsure that their skills would still be in demand five years from now. This marks a steady increase from 19 per cent who said so in 2017, and 21 per cent who said so in 2018. While the majority (67 per cent) are still positive their skills will remain relevant, this steady increase could indicate growing concerns as the region continues to reel from economic uncertainty.

Adding to this narrative, job security is also becoming increasingly valuable to employees in Hong Kong. While only 30 per cent of respondents said they were actively looking for a new job (the lowest in Asia after China’s 26 per cent), 45 per cent said they were still open to new opportunities. When asked what made them stay with their current employers, 35 per cent said job security – a marked increase from only 28 per cent last year that may indicate growing concerns. However, job security was only the third most important reason cited by professionals in Hong Kong who favoured work-life balance (45 per cent) and salary (44 per cent) when it came to retention.

Jack Leung, Regional Director at Hays Hong Kong commented, “While 2019 was one of the most challenging years that Hong Kong has ever seen in terms of economic growth, the region has stayed resilient and turned its focus onto digitalisation as well restructuring to leaner and more efficient processes. This is evident in the high salary satisfaction reported by employees, as well as their growing uncertainty around skills as more industries digitalise and re-organise. However, these changes will bring plenty of opportunity to the market, provided candidates continue upskilling themselves and are able to showcase their adaptability and preparation for the rapidly changing business landscape ahead.”

To download your copy of the 2020 Hays Asia Salary Guide, please click here.

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Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

Hays is located in Hong Kong at 6604-06, 66/F, ICC, 1 Austin Road West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong.

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About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2019 the Group employed 11,600 staff operating from 266 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2019:

– the Group reported net fees of £1,129.7 billion and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £248.8 million;
– the Group placed around 81,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 254,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 18% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 27% in Germany, 23% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 32% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 43% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA