Exclusive | 55% plunge in new hires as Hong Kong graduates face gloomiest job outlook in 5 years
Average monthly salary of new hires has risen only marginally by 0.5 per cent year on year to HK$20,961 in 2025, according to online job portal
University graduates in Hong Kong are facing the gloomiest employment market since 2021, with the number of available jobs plunging by 55 per cent in 2025 and the average salary of new hires increasing by only 0.5 per cent year on year.
A veteran human resources consultant attributed the sharp fall in entry-level jobs, which require significant investment and mentorship, to the rise of artificial intelligence and the uncertain economic outlook.
According to data from the Joint Institution Job Information System, an online job information system run by the city’s eight public universities, job vacancies in 2025 numbered only 30,798 – 55 per cent fewer than the 68,728 recorded the previous year.
The figure was the lowest over the past five years, even lower than the 63,543 jobs available in 2021 when the city was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of available jobs has been on a declining trend since 2024, which saw a 22 per cent drop from 2023, when there were more than 87,600 full-time graduate jobs available.
Annual salary growth was also diminishing.
The average monthly salary for graduate jobs in 2025 was HK$20,961, an increase of just HK$112 or 0.5 per cent from 2024, the smallest rise in recent years.