Editorial | Tackling the wealth gap should be high on Hong Kong leader’s agenda

The well-being of Hong Kong society has been portrayed rather differently by two sets of figures recently. The official jobless rate continues to stay at 2.8 per cent, suggesting the workforce is near full employment amid a steady post-Covid upturn. However, a poverty report by a leading NGO shows the poorest are still struggling, with the city’s wealth gap aggravated to its worst in a decade.

Familiar as they seem, the findings by Oxfam Hong Kong underline the fragile economic recovery.

The wealthiest 10 per cent of households earned 57.7 times more than the bottom 10 per cent in the first quarter of this year, up from 34.3 times in 2019. The lowest income group is mostly made up of elderly people and homemakers who are economically inactive or struggling to earn a living.

Using the government’s previous benchmark, Oxfam said about 20 per cent of the population, or 1.36 million residents, were earning less than half of the median household income level, or living below the poverty line. The situation is worrying.

The yawning wealth gap has been one of the most serious in the world even before the onslaught of the coronavirus. What worries is that the pace of recovery has been slower than expected. Even when most economic activities have largely returned to normality, the vulnerable have yet to benefit.

It is true that the report has not taken into account government welfare payments, subsidised housing and other support for the needy.