Expectation vs reality: HK$7,500 salary gap between what Hong Kong graduates expect and what employers pay

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However, both graduates (40.1%) and employers (70.9%) agreed that year-end bonuses are the most attractive employee benefit.

According to the latest survey by CTgoodjobs, the gap between the expected salary of Hong Kong graduates and the salary that employers are willing to pay is as high as HK$7,545.

The survey showed that graduates' expected salary is HK$24,838 per month, an increase of about 20% from last year; while the salary employers are willing to pay is HK$17,293 per month, a slight increase of 5% from last year.

Graduates from the following three Hong Kong institutions have the highest expected salary:

1. The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) — HKD 28,333 per month
2. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) — HKD 27,464 per month
3. The University of Hong Kong (HKU) — HKD 27,063 per month

On the flipside, employers are willing to pay the highest salaries to graduates from the following three Hong Kong institutions:

1. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) — HKD 18,538
2. The University of Hong Kong (HKU) — HK$17,991
3. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) — HK$17,476

The top five popular industries among graduates surveyed are:

1. Banking/insurance/securities/finance (15.6%)
2. Government/public sector/utilities (11.6%)
3. Advertising/public relations/marketing (10.9%)
4. Accounting/audit/tax (8.7%)
5. Information technology/E-commerce (8.2%)

The most popular employers for graduates are:

1. HKSAR Government (8.5%);
2. Google (6.0%);
3. HSBC (3.1%); and
4. Apple (2.9%)

More graduates are looking for part-time jobs

The survey also revealed that work-life balance is important to Gen Z, with 20% of surveyed planning to find part-time jobs after graduation, a significant increase of 12.6% from last year.

Both graduates (40.1%) and employers (70.9%) agreed that year-end bonuses are the most attractive employee benefit. More than one-third (39.0%) of graduates also hope that companies will implement a four-day workweek, but only one-fifth (19.1%) of employers think this policy is attractive.

On the contrary, nearly two-thirds of employers (61.0%) believed that special leave policies, such as birthday leave, menstrual leave, marriage leave, and compassionate leave, are attractive, but only 16.9% of graduates agreed.

Concerns over the immigration wave continue

As society returns to normalcy, employers are more confident about recruitment, with an average score of 5.9, a slight increase of 0.28 points from last year. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the employers surveyed intend to recruit graduates in the next six months, with 87.2% of full-time jobs, 5.7% of contract jobs, and 5.0% of part-time jobs.

Top concerns for employers over recruitment are that salary and benefits are not attractive enough (65.0%), followed by insufficient local talents (61.3%), as well as young people's intention to immigrate (50.2%).

Lead image / Shutterstock
All infographics / CTgoodjobs