Over half of Hong Kong employees dissatisfied with the 2023-24 salary adjustments

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The Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (HKFLU) has proposed a minimum 5.5% salary increase next year amidst economic recovery and inflation.

Benefitting from economic improvements, Hong Kong employees, in general, received a pay rise this fiscal year (2023-24), but more than half of the respondents were dissatisfied with the adjustments, according to the latest 2024-25 Salary Trends and Expectations Survey conducted by the HKFLU.

The HKFLU interviewed more than 1,100 Hong Kong employees in August 2024. Respondents were predominantly aged 46-50. Segmented by industry, respondents were mostly from the service industry, followed by the mechanical and electrical industry, as well as the catering industry.

The results showed that 63% of the respondents reported a salary increment in 2023-24, with an average increase of 4.5%. More than one-third (36.1%) saw a pay freeze, while less than 1% had their salaries reduced, a significant improvement compared with last year.

Low satisfaction with this year's salary adjustment was identified in the survey. Most respondents responded generally alright (35.4%) with the adjustment, 33% were dissatisfied, 19.3% were highly dissatisfied. Only 13% said they were "satisfied or highly satisfied". In addition, 36.3% of the respondents had the idea of changing jobs based on this year’s salary adjustment.

The top three factors that contributed to the expectation of a salary increase are:

• Inflation (72.8%)
• Job performance (34.2%)
• Years of service (21.7%)

"Employees' requirements for salary adjustment", "company performance", and "external economic environment" were also cited by around 20% of the respondents each.

Looking to 2024-25, most (35.6%) of the respondents expected a pay raise between 5% and 7%. Those who expected "a salary increase of 3% to 5%" and "a salary increase of more than 7%" each accounted for 29.1% of the respondents, while "a salary increase of 1% to 3%" was expected by only 6.1% of the respondents.

Taking into account factors such as economic recovery and inflation, the HKFLU has proposed a minimum 5.5% salary increase next year.

Photo / The Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (HKFLU)