The average salary range of professionals in Hong Kong are projected to remain relatively stagnant throughout 2024, as businesses play catch-up to inflation and rising business costs, according to research from Robert Walters Hong Kong.

Across industries, salary adjustments for most functions are 1%, except for construction, property & engineering which is expected to have a 3% growth in 2024. Salary increments for changing jobs is expected to be lower, from an average of 15-20% in 2023 to 5-10% in 2024. Job cuts are expected to continue in some areas, such as investment banking, in 2024, due to over-hiring in 2021-2022.

"The market is slowly improving, although employer and candidate confidence remains quite fragile. While the increase in numbers hired may not be significant, we anticipate a slight improvement to the recruitment market in 2024,” John Mullally, managing director of Robert Walters commented.

Meanwhile, 58% of professionals anticipate a pay rise in the next year. Among those not expecting a rise, 68% stated that the industry or business they work in has been heavily impacted by the current economic climate. When asked about the confidence level about job opportunities in their fields, only half of the candidates (50%) feel optimistic, compared to 63% in December 2022.

The survey also found that 74% of employees are actively seeking new job opportunities within the next 12 months. The desire for career progression (37%) emerged as the primary factor driving job change. Interestingly, when asked if they are willing to consider a counteroffer from their current employer, 52% stated they would do so, even after accepting a new job offer.

"As pay expectations moderate, employees are increasingly prioritising job security and career development opportunities," said Mullally. "Once one has made the decision to resign, reneging on that decision and accepting a counteroffer can create more issues down the line and may not actually change the factors that led one to resign in the first place." In fact, among the respondents who had accepted a counteroffer in the past, 38% of them left that company within six months.”

Hiring in Hong Kong has been focused on mid-level positions in 2023. Departures and downsizing at senior levels has led to those roles being staffed with more junior candidates (e.g. replacing directors with vice presidents). This trend reflects an overall desire among companies to reduce costs by replacing senior roles with candidates one level of seniority below.
Surveyed employers reveal that junior to associate level professionals are more likely to receive a 6-10% salary increase compared to senior professionals.
Meanwhile, contract hiring is likely to increase across tech, financial services and commerce sectors as employers seek a more flexible workforce to adapt to changing business conditions.

According to Robert Walters, technology and AI are set to lead demand.

In 2024, technology, particularly AI and machine learning, will remain in high demand among employers.

"Companies were looking to AI to deliver improvements in productivity and increasing automation of processes", said Mullally.

Robert Walters also found that 43% of the surveyed employers have explored or are exploring the use of AI models as a solution to replace routine tasks or administrative work. However, employees have yet to fully embrace these changes, with 44% of employees expressing some degree of concern about the impact of technology changes in their companies.