Working in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong employment market remains as dynamic as ever, even in the aftermath of SARS. Financial and managerial positions are particularly fast moving due to increased competition with Shanghai, Tokyo Singapore and Bangkok, all of which are stiff rivals for Hong Kong these days.

Expectations in employment are still moving in the right direction with employers across nearly every sector expecting tangible growth in staff numbers. Add to this, reports of employee burnout being significant, you'll see companies looking to increase their staffing levels to reduce this trend.

The Banking and professional services sector is expected to grow the most with the IT sector not far behind. Mandarin or Cantonese speakers are in very high demand indeed and IT staff with international experience are likely to be employed quickly.

Another good indicator of the state of an economy is the advertising sector. In Hong Kong, a sharp rise in such companies planning recruitment campaigns is in evidence recently, reflecting confidence throughout the Hong Kong economy.

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This is page is only intended as an introduction to the current employment climate in Hong Kong and at the time of writing (May 2006), confidence appears good across the board, with banking, IT, media (and associated creative specialists), showing the most promise. The English teaching profession should not be overlooked either, as the enthusiasm for adults to improve their language skills is a strong as ever. Add to this the huge number of parents wanting their children to become bilingual and you have a strong demand for skilled English language teachers.

At the time of writing, around 60 percent of Hong Kong staff claim to work more than 50 hours per week. This is a major factor in the expected increase in hiring as employers try to manage employee burnout and allow current staff to focus specifically on their own roles.

Now that Hong Kong is part of China, it is only natural that the territory should further integrate its trade and investment ties with the mainland. Hong Kong will be keen to preserve and enhance its trading and financial assets as China looks set to become a major global player. This means there are likely to be more opportunities in the public sector as the government comes up with infrastructure projects and other initiatives.

It's not all plain sailing though. The job market for expatriate graduates is likely to be very tough as competition with Hong Kong graduates is fierce.

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