Monetary incentives work best
Hong Kong employers prefer to offer monetary incentives to attract top talent, according to a quarterly survey conducted by recruitment services provider Hudson. The survey interviewed 716 key employment decision makers in Hong Kong and 29 per cent of them across all industries preferred to offer higher salaries as a measure to attract ideal people. Training programmes and performance bonuses were also popular - they were mentioned by 19 per cent and 18 per cent of the respondents respectively. The banking and finance services sector had the highest proportion of respondents citing higher salaries (33 per cent) and the lowest citing training programmes (16 per cent). Higher salaries were also important in the media/public relations/advertising sectors where 32 per cent of respondents picked this measure. Other measures included signing-on bonuses, extra holidays and work-life balance benefits. About 45 per cent of respondents said their companies had implemented a work-life balance policy - a 5 per cent increase from the second quarter of 2005.
HK unemployment lowest since 1998
The unemployment rate in Hong Kong has dropped to the lowest since mid-1998, according to the latest labour force statistics released on July 19 by the Census and Statistics Department. The unemployment rate decreased to 4.2 per cent for the period from April to June from 4.3 per cent for the period from March to May this year. Declines in the unemployment rate were observed in construction, amusement and recreation services, and retail sectors. A department spokesman said the entry of fresh graduates and school leavers in the next few months would continue to affect the labour force and unemployment figures. The outlook of the labour market would depend on whether the pace of job creation in the economy was sufficient to absorb the newcomers. Last month, the Labour Department noted 41,723 vacancies in the private sector - a 5.7 per cent increase over the same period last year. The Labour Department's two youth employment programmes - Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and the Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme - are accepting applications.
