Hong Kong Sees 9.9 Per Cent Wage Rise Despite Economic Uncertainty

31 Dec 2011

Wages rose by an average of 9.9 per cent in Hong Kong in September, as the city saw the fastest year-on-year growth in wages since March 1994, official statistics showed Thursday.

Around 79 per cent of companies recorded wage increases, according to the government's Census and Statistics Department, while only 15 per cent said wages had fallen. The remaining 6 per cent reported virtually no change.

The statistics revealed that average wages rose by 8.3 per cent in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2010.

However, after discounting the effects of high inflation in the city of 7.1 million, workers were only 1.6 per cent better off in real terms compared to the same quarter last year.

A government spokesman said a tight labour market and buoyant business activities had helped boost wages, adding that lower-paid workers had seen more visible increases, partly as a result of the implementation of a statutory minimum wage in April.

The city's labour market has largely escaped the effects of the global economic uncertainty, with only 3.4 per cent of the workforce unemployed.

However, the government has warned tougher times may lie ahead, as the eurozone sovereign debt crisis and fragile global economy may impact on the city, which narrowly avoided a recession in the third quarter.