The employee turnover rate among enterprises in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) has reached 11.1 percent, prompting a cautious hiring outlook as companies seek "hybrid talent" to navigate structural transformations, according to a newly released report.
The findings were published in the Current Situation and Development Trends of Enterprise Talent in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area 2025, jointly issued by the Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao Development Studies at Sun Yat-sen University and KOS International Talent Group.
Speaking at the report's launch, Jackson Chan, co-founder and executive director of KOS International, highlighted the severe talent drain in the region. While the overall enterprise turnover rate stands at 11.1 percent, cities such as Shenzhen and Jiangmen have reported rates exceeding 15 percent.
The report revealed that "lack of salary competitiveness" and "limited room for career development" are the two primary factors driving the talent loss, reflecting the structural challenges companies face during their transition periods.
Enterprises are also adopting a prudent recruitment strategy, with over 70 percent of companies indicating that they plan to add no more than 30 new employees over the next three to five years.
The report noted that the talent demand of enterprises in GBA is undergoing a structural shift, with 62 percent of respondents believing that hybrid talent with technology and management skills is the most scarce, which even exceeds the professional and technical talents, which stands at 59.3 percent.
The finding also indicated that research and development (R&D) and sales positions will drive future core recruitment, while the demand for traditional management roles remains relatively low.
Furthermore, GBA enterprises expressed a "relatively satisfied" level of overall satisfaction with local government talent policies, reflecting that the current policy frameworks have been largely established and recognized.
