Opting out: why does Hong Kong have more idle youth than its Asian peers?
Lawmakers and experts urge government to expand training, especially in artificial intelligence, and review youth schemes to tackle emerging issues
A job market mismatch, shrinking demand for junior roles and relatively comfortable family living conditions have driven up Hong Kong’s share of young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) compared to their regional peers, observers have warned.
Their comments on Friday followed government figures released in response to lawmaker Elvin Lee Ka-kui, showing the city’s NEET rate was 6 per cent. A Legislative Council report last month put the 2025 figure at 6.3 per cent – nearly double the overall unemployment rate.
“It’s not an individual issue,” Lee warned during a radio programme. “If more jobs are replaced because of a lack of competitiveness, it would further affect youth employment, which could have a knock-on effect on the upward mobility of society.”
Data from the Census and Statistics Department showed that between 2023 and 2025, the number of residents aged 15 to 24 who were NEETs fluctuated between 33,700 and 36,100, accounting for 5.7 to 6 per cent of their total demographic.
The figures were released on Wednesday in response to a question from Lee at a Legco meeting.
“A review of past data shows that even in years when the economy was booming and labour demand in the job market was high, the proportion of young people in Hong Kong classified as ‘NEETs’ mostly hovered between 6 per cent and 7 per cent,” Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said in his written reply.