Hong Kong Employment Outlook 2025

Headcount Expectations | Salary Outlook |
Talent Management

19 March 2025

As we enter 2025, the Hong Kong employment market continues to evolve, presenting both opportunities and challenges for businesses. The Hong Kong Employment Outlook 2025 delves into the key trends shaping the city's talent market.

The ninth edition of our annual report analyses the city’s latest employment trends and explores the prospects of Hong Kong’s talent market for 2025 based on the insights of our subject matter experts and a survey with Hong Kong business executives and professionals.

About the Survey

Conducted between 2 and 14 January 2025, the survey collected the perspectives of 425 Hong Kong business executives and professionals on employment trends and career opportunities in Hong Kong and the wider Greater Bay Area (GBA).

Respondents were drawn from various sectors, with 53% of respondents’ organisations being headquartered in Hong Kong. Among the respondents, 50% held leadership positions (21% C-level and 29% department head or equivalent).

This year also marks the first time the survey was expanded to Singapore, for which the findings are covered in a separate publication.

Executive summary

A cautious employment market

of all respondents expect their organisations’ workforce to increase in 2025
of C-level respondents anticipate headcount expansion in 2025, showing more optimism

Talent demand adapts to market conditions

of C-level and HR respondents experienced challenges in hiring the right talent

Shifting priorities – Stability is increasingly sought after

of respondents put stability as their top non-monetary factor when choosing a new employer – up from 31% in 2024

C-level executives are feeling slightly more positive about hiring in 2025 (44%) compared to 2024 (41%), albeit with some uncertainty creeping in. There was less optimism from all respondents in 2025 with 24% expecting increases in their organisations’ headcount.

The report goes on detail how some sectors’ hiring practices have been impacted by the shifting economic landscape, with industries such as real estate and consumer markets being negatively impacted while financial and professional services showing resilience.

Career moves in 2024

14% of respondents reported securing new employment in 2024, with the consumer markets, financial services, and innovation and technology industries experiencing the highest concentration of successful job seekers. This compares to 39% of respondents who actively sought new job opportunities, highlighting an increasingly competitive job market.

The survey explores the gap between compensation package expectations and benefits provided, highlighting disparities across sectors and between generations of employees.

39 % of respondents sought new job opportunities in 2024

Career moves first half in 2025

In the first half of 2025, 29% of respondents are thinking about changing careers, down from 39% last year. While all sectors have seen a decrease in job seekers, the professional services and real estate industries are the most affected.

In this report, we cover Hong Kong professionals’ compensation and career move expectations for 2025, highlighting Hong Kong employment trends over the years and how organisations can better prepare to address them.

2025
29 %

2024
39 %

of respondents are considering career moves in the first half of the year

Talent retention

For the third year in a row, compensation package, career progression, and work flexibility have remained the top three drivers for job seekers. Recent years have witnessed a growing trend of employees seeking new employment opportunities due to an increase in workload, work pressure, and concerns about job security.

The Hong Kong Employment Outlook 2025 analyses the drivers behind this dynamic and gives a detailed analyses of employees’ expectations, helping employers to understand their workforce needs and cater to them in order to maximise talent attraction and retention.

Compensation and benefits

After observing several years of increase, the average number of benefits provided levelled off at slightly less than 4 benefits provided in 2024. This shift may be due to a softened talent market in 2024. The report takes an in depth look at the implications of employees’ benefits expectations and particularly the differences in expectations between senior employees and executives and more junior employees.

Talent markets where organisations hired

Half (51%) of C-level and HR respondents hired talent from the Chinese Mainland in 2025 while 28% hired from overseas markets. Nearly all C-level and HR respondents (97%) reported encountering challenges in securing the right talent. These challenges were deemed unmanageable by a higher proportion of C-level and HR professionals in professional services (75%), the public sector (70%), and financial services (59%).

As the Hong Kong employment market becomes increasingly competitive, the Hong Kong Employment Outlook 2025 showcases how are organisations coping with the shifting landscape to recruit the right talent.

Greater Bay Area opportunities

65% of respondents say their organisation is either already operating in other GBA cities (outside of Hong Kong) or planning to expand there within the next three years. With the growing talent pool and increasingly interconnected logistics within the GBA, more Hong Kong-based companies are capitalising on the opportunity to source talent from the region. The GBA's market potential, coupled with various tax incentive schemes, also provides strong incentives for companies to expand their operations within the area.

The report analyses these incentives and advantages and shows how Hong Kong-based organisations leverage them to both recruit new talent and expand their operations.

Crucial skills and knowledge for individuals

Proficiency in Gen AI has emerged as one of the most frequently cited essential skills for 2025, reflecting the growing interest among both employers and employees in understanding and utilising this technology.

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI)

The salary table offers salary outlooks for a number of professions in key sectors of the Hong Kong economy.

To consult the salary table, please download the full report by clicking the link below.

Contact Us

David Siew

Head of People Services, Tax
KPMG China

david.siew@kpmg.com

Gabriel Ho

Director, People Services
KPMG China

gabriel.ho@kpmg.com

Isabel Liu

Director, People Services
KPMG China

isabel.q.liu@kpmg.com

Kate Munroe

Head of People and Change
KPMG China

kate.munroe@kpmg.com

Maggie Lee

Partner, Audit
Deputy Head of GBA Strategy and Development Office
KPMG China

maggie.lee@kpmg.com

Stanley Sum

Partner, Head of Technology
KPMG China

stanley.sum@kpmg.com

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KPMG in China has offices located in 31 cities with over 14,000 partners and staff, in Beijing, Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Dongguan, Foshan, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Jinan, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Wuhan, Wuxi, Xiamen, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. It started operations in Hong Kong in 1945. In 1992, KPMG became the first international accounting network to be granted a joint venture licence in the Chinese Mainland. In 2012, KPMG became the first among the “Big Four” in the Chinese Mainland to convert from a joint venture to a special general partnership.

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Celebrating 80 years in Hong Kong

In 2025, KPMG marks “80 Years of Trust” in Hong Kong. Established in 1945, we were the first international accounting firm to set up operations in the city. Over the past eight decades, we’ve woven ourselves into the fabric of Hong Kong, working closely with the government, regulators, and the business community to help establish Hong Kong as one of the world’s leading business and financial centres. This close collaboration has enabled us to build lasting trust with our clients and the local community – a core value celebrated in our anniversary theme: “80 Years of Trust”.

Hong Kong Employment Outlook 2025

About the Survey