Finance chief expects Hong Kong’s unemployment rate to stabilise or even decline
Financial Secretary Paul Chan expresses optimism amid economic momentum after 2025 growth forecast revised upwards to 3.2 per cent
Hong Kong’s unemployment rate, which recently hit a three-year high of 3.9 per cent, is expected to stabilise or even decline as the economy gains positive momentum, according to the city’s finance chief.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po expressed optimism on Sunday following the government’s revision of its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2025 from 2 to 3 per cent, to 3.2 per cent. This revision takes into account the actual growth of 3.3 per cent recorded in the first three quarters of the year and the near-term outlook.
He made the upgrade after the third quarter achieved the highest growth in more than 1.5 years, driven by robust exports, consumption and investment. The economy grew by 3.8 per cent that quarter, marking its 11th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth.
Chan told a radio show on Sunday that Hong Kong had attracted significant capital during the trade war between China and the United States, thanks to the city’s determination to remain a free port.
Hong Kong’s currency peg to the US dollar had also helped the city become a refuge for capital, he said.
“We have become a safe harbour for some people who dare not hold US bonds directly to hold ours,” Chan said, adding such confidence in the city had led to a sharp rise in bank deposits.