Hong Kong to raise the minimum wage to $42.1 per hour, effective 1 May 2025

閱讀中文版本

The Minimum Wage Commission has adopted the formula approved by the Chief Executive in Council on 30 April 2024 to derive the recommended rate.

After thorough consideration, Hong Kong’s Minimum Wage Commission (MWC) has recommended raising the Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) rate of the city from the current HK$40 per hour to HK$42.1, an increase of HK$2.1 or 5.25%.

The Chief Executive (CE) in Council has adopted the recommendation. The HKSAR Government will publish the amendment notice in the Gazette on 21 February (Friday), and table it in the Legislative Council (LegCo) on 26 February. Subject to the approval of the LegCo, the revised SMW rate will come into force on 1 May this year.

To derive the recommended rate, the MWC has adopted the formula approved by the CE in Council on 30 April 2024. The formula for calculating the annual rate of adjustment in SMW (%) is:

Headline Consumer Price Index (A) inflation (subject to a lower bound of zero)
+
[(the growth rate of the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the latest year – the trend growth rate of the real GDP in the latest decade) x 20%] (economic growth factor, subject to an upper bound of one percentage point and a lower bound of zero)

Chris Sun, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, said he is pleased with the MWC's smooth completion of its mission to review the SMW rate through elaborate discussions to draw up the implementation arrangements for adopting the formula, examining the latest data on the indicators in the formula, and assessing the relevant impacts.

"The recommendation of the MWC is in line with the policy objectives of the SMW to maintain an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs, while giving due regard to sustaining Hong Kong's economic growth and competitiveness," he said.

As announced in the CE's 2024 Policy Address, the Government will implement a new annual review mechanism of the SMW. The first SMW rate derived under the new mechanism is expected to take effect on 1 May 2026.