Salary not all that matters

Hong Kong's job market will see a surge of young job-seekers over the next two months, with the entrance of fresh graduates and school-leavers. And the good news is that there are jobs galore because housing construction is pushing ahead on high demand from mainland buyers.

With the government gearing up to revive the Home Ownership Scheme, the situation can only get better, according to an official monitoring the implementation of the minimum wage scheme.

'There is a great multiplier effect from an active construction industry. There will be more contracts, technical and legal work. For fresh graduates, this will be a great time. You can say this will be a time of full employment,' the official says.

The minimum wage law, launched in May, will have little or no effect on the job market for at least another year or so, he adds. 'The effect, if any, is confined to those already in employment and only in certain low-paying occupations.'

Inflation is more likely to have a bigger impact in the short term. According to recruitment agency Adecco, their recent survey of 300 tertiary level students showed a 10 per cent rise in salary expectations over 2010.

But fresh graduates interviewed by Fuel say this higher expectation has everything to do with inflation which currently runs at over 5 per cent, and likely to go above 6per cent by September. Inflation is at its highest since 1997.

Two fresh graduates from Baptist University who are looking for work told Fuel the 'higher' expectations are to meet higher rents and the rising costs of food. Both are from the mainland. 'I don't expect any difficulty getting a job for the moment,' Leslie Fong says.