Hong Kong low-income households rose by 160,000 in 25 years up to 2021; poorest families make less than HK$4,700 a month
- Almost three-quarters of the families consist of members who are not part of labour force, Legislative Council paper says
- People unfit to work might be under-represented in statistics, Society for Community Organisation warns
Low-income households in Hong Kong increased by 160,000 in the 25 years leading up to 2021 with the poorest families only making HK$4,700 (US$600) a month, less than what they did in 1996, according to government statistics.
Among those families, close to three-quarters consisted of members who were not part of the labour force, according to a report released by the Legislative Council on Friday.
The Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) attributed the high proportion of economically inactive households to the Covid-19 pandemic and warned that people unfit to work might be under-represented, urging authorities to enhance day care services and employers to allow more job flexibility.
The Legco report said the number of low-income households, which make up the lowest 20 per cent of income, increased by 44 per cent from 371,000 in 1996 to 534,300 in 2021.
The data showed that the median monthly income among those households dropped from HK$5,400 in 1996 to HK$4,700 in 2021, despite a slight increase to HK$5,700 in 2016.
Over the 25-year period, the proportion of economically inactive households among low-income families increased from 34 per cent to 74 per cent, representing close to 400,000 families.
Among these families, 40 per cent, or nearly 160,000, were working-age households, meaning at least one member was under the age of 65. The figure is a three-fold increase over 1996, when the number of working-age and economically inactive households was about 50,000.
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According to the report, the 160,000 households included more than 200,000 people, and 40 per cent, or 81,300, were homemakers and early retirees with no care responsibilities.
“It might be worth gaining a better understanding of the reasons why they were unable to, or had actively chosen not to participate in the labour market and [help] them overcome the relevant obstacles,” the report said.
“It would not only raise the prospect of improving the income situation of these low-income households, but might even alleviate to a certain extent the impact of a tight labour force on the local economy.”
The report also noted a heavy reliance on social welfare among low-income households, with cash benefits accounting for more than 80 per cent of their household earnings in 2021, up from only 27 per cent in 1996.
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Public expenditure on the cash benefits increased by four times to HK$70.6 billion in 2021.
Sze Lai-shan, deputy director of SoCO, warned that people unable to work were likely to be under-represented in government statistics, stressing that most poor families were working hard to make ends meet.
“Some people have physical conditions that prevent them from working long hours, but they have not managed to get a medical certificate for the issue,” she said, adding that homemaking duties prevented many women from participating in the labour market, especially for those with big families.
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“Those people struggle to find a job because the positions they are fit for, mostly labour-intensive ones, have long working hours and inflexible shifts, but they need to take care of their families at the same time,” she said.
Many members of low-income households had lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic and had to rely on welfare, and while many managed to eventually find employment, their pay was lower, she explained
Sze called on the government to bolster day care services to help low-income families, noting employers should also allow more flexible scheduling to provide more options for workers.
