Outside In | Migrants mean more than birth rates in meeting Hong Kong’s labour shortage, which is why we must act now
- Hong Kong has traditionally depended on migrant labourers to meet its domestic demand. The problem is that neighbouring countries are set for similar shortages, thus thinning the pool
One puzzles at how long it takes for our senior government officials to acknowledge the obvious: skills shortages are acute and widespread, and our neglect of the problem has put the future prosperity of our economy in jeopardy.
For the record, the projection says in a base-case scenario, manpower supply in 2027 will sit at 3.57 million while manpower requirements will sit at 3.74 million. That makes a shortfall of about 170,000 jobs – about 4.5 per cent of the workforce. The number could go up to 250,000 in a worst-case scenario. The Post editorial correctly stated that the projections are “too disturbing to be ignored”. But the blunt reality is that they have been ignored already for many years, with no clear evidence of interest in or intent to tackle the problem.
