Hong Kong's IT sector poised for strong employment growth

Despite long-term stability of unemployment figure.

Randstad Hong Kong has responded to the latest unemployment and underemployment figures issued recently by the Census and Statistics Department.

According to a release from Randstad, Michael Smith, Managing Director of Randstad Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, highlighted that despite the long term stability of Hong Kong’s unemployment figure of 3.3%, there is considerable movement in Hong Kong’s employment market.

Mr. Smith noted, “As per expectations, the general economic environment in Hong Kong has been stable and unemployment has remained at a low 3.3%. Despite this stability, there have been major changes in the underlying industries that are operating in Hong Kong.

“Declining industries such as retail, food and entertainment, which have not rebounded due to slowing inbound tourism, as well as the continued decline in manufacturing, are offset by strong growth in other sectors. Key areas of growth include IT, financial services and construction.”

Here's more from Randstad:

Growth in construction can be attributed to strong public infrastructure spending whilst financial services has seen private banking & wealth management in high demand due to last year’s high performance compared to corporate and commercial banking.

In addition, the Mutual Recognition Fund scheme will drive talent demand for fund management, especially those with experience in China, and can expect and average salary increase of 20 to 25 per cent.

The IT sector is also set for strong growth and increased talent demand with plans such as the Hong Kong Government’s $2 billion Innovation and Technology Venture Fund and other initiatives such as the “WiFi City” plan.

Demand for talent in telecommunication, such as 4G network engineers, will be higher than ever with projects such as the “WiFi City”. Coding specialists are particularly in high-demand and can expect bonuses of up to 25 per cent of their annual salary.

“We don’t expect to see any major changes in the coming year for Hong Kong’s economic standing and employment figures, provided that the global and Chinese economic environments are not hit with major issues,” added Mr. Smith.