Peak hiring season as economic revival cranks up

Almost half of local employers plan to hire additional staff in the next three months as companies gear up for business growth amid a post-Covid economic revival, a survey has found.

Employers in media and IT industries are the most eager to hire, with 81 percent and 50 percent planning to expand staff size respectively. Bosses from medical science, finance and property, logistics, and retail sectors are also actively recruiting.

ManpowerGroup revealed findings of its quarterly employment forecast survey, covering 510 Hong Kong employers.

Some 85 percent of respondents said they are short of manpower, 2 percentage points more than the second quarter last year.

The five sectors most desperately in need of talent are IT, engineering, sales and marketing, risk management, and sustainable development and environmental skills.

While 45 percent plan to hire within the next months, 15 percent of employers said they are planning to layoff some staff and 38 percent forecast no change.

Lancy Chui Yuk-shan, senior vice president of the group's Greater China region, said since the border reopened the economy has gradually recovered and the overall employment situation is expected to improve.

Chui said the tourism sector is short of at least 30 percent of workers to serve the continuously increasing tourist numbers and large-scale events. The catering industry's case is also serious, she said.

"As local economic activities continue to recover and the labor market conditions further improve, we believe that the overall retail industry's recruitment intention will continue to remain positive, but talent shortage remains," Chui said.

She added that the talent shortage could be worse in the next two years due to a drop in the working population because of emigration.

Hong Kong's working population has fallen by 180,000 in the past three years. Chui questioned whether those who left will return, adding that more and more local companies are willing to hire overseas staff to work remotely.

She suggested local employers consider outsourcing some roles overseas, hiring temporary contract staff, or introducing artificial intelligence to the workplace.

Employers can introduce better benefits and higher salaries and provide training to tackle brain drain, she said.

When asked how to lure talent, Chui said Hong Kong is an attractive location with advantages such as proximity to the Greater Bay Area, and the government has introduced comprehensive support for talent.

ManpowerGroup has also conducted a survey of over 38,000 employers from 41 countries, and 77 percent reported difficulty in filling positions, especially in IT and data, engineering, sales and marketing.

That is 2 percentage points higher than in March last year and it is the highest in 17 years.

In Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan reported difficulty in filling position, as 90 percent of the employers said they faced talent shortages.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com