Letters | An alarm bell over Hong Kong’s job market
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Speaking as an educator, this is seriously alarming. If employers are having to look elsewhere for talent, it means that local universities are not producing the kind of graduates who meet the needs of businesses, and that local vocational institutions are not retraining the workforce correctly.
If we look deeper, Hong Kong’s workforce participation rate for the population over the age of 15 is 59 per cent, according to the World Bank. This figure is quite low, compared to those of other Asian economies, such as Singapore (71 per cent), Malaysia (65 per cent), Thailand (67 per cent), Macau (69 per cent) and mainland China (67 per cent). Even Japan’s figure (62 per cent) is higher than Hong Kong’s.
It appears there is a significant portion of our population not even joining the workforce. Of course, some of these people may have achieved financial independence, yet others may have already given up seeking employment.