Hong Kong economy set to grow about 6.5 per cent in 2021 but not all workers benefiting, financial chief says

City should hit upper end of projected range of expansion but average wage has fallen when inflation taken into account, Paul Chan says

As one analyst argues, despite lower jobless rate, fewer people are working than a year ago, which is ‘hardly an improvement’

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Hong Kong’s GDP is growing, but not all workers are seeing that reflected in their earnings, the city’s financial chief says. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 2:28pm, 31 Oct 2021Updated: 9:21am, 1 Nov 2021

Hong Kong is on track to hit about 6.5 per cent growth this year but not every resident is benefiting from the improving economy as the increase to the average wage is failing to keep pace with inflation, the financial secretary has said.

Paul Chan Mo-po vowed on Sunday that the government would strive to ensure more people saw a real improvement in their lives from the fastest expansion since 2010, when the city was bouncing back from the global financial crisis.

Chan argued that reopening the border with mainland China, which remained largely closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, would go a long way towards distributing the benefits of growth more evenly across society.

The minister noted that Hong Kong’s average wage rate increased by 1.1 per cent in June against a year ago, but after deducting changes in consumer prices, the amount actually decreased by 0.3 per cent.

“That shows that even though the economy has continued to improve, those relatively low-level workers have yet to feel the warmth,” he said.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan notes that the average wage rate has decreased year on year when inflation is taken into account. Photo: May Tse

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