Hong Kong Recruitment Report 2026
Hong Kong Is Hiring Again, but Talent Is the Bottleneck
153 data points on a cautious, AI-driven 2026 job market: modest headcount growth, a widening pay gap and fierce competition for specialists.
3.9%Unemployment, Nov 2025 to Jan 2026
3.67MPeople employed in Q4 2025
34%Employers planning to hire more in 2026
2%Net Employment Outlook, Q1 2026
The talent squeeze
Employers can find people, but not the right skills. Shortages are near-universal.
Report talent acquisition challenges (2025)
97%
Cannot find the right talent
79%
Lack of quality candidates is top 2026 hurdle
69%
Cite skills mismatches
62%
Lost hires over uncompetitive pay (2025)
63%
The salary expectation gap
Job switchers want double-digit rises. Most employers plan to offer far less.
81%of professionals expect a rise of 10% or more when changing jobs in 2026. 30% expect 16 to 20%.
83%of employers plan to offer movers increases below 6%.
Forecast average pay growth is just 2.7% in 2026. Most hires see 3 to 5%, while scarce specialists can reach up to 20%.
AI: demand outruns supply
AI is both a hiring priority and a headcount tool.
Employers prioritising AI hiring
70%
Struggle to find suitable AI candidates
73%
Employers who have introduced AI
58%
Workers using AI tools at work
61%
AI users reporting higher productivity
77%
+26%Growth in AI-related job ads through 2025
49%Of employers use AI to optimise headcount
24%Of workers feel more secure because of AI
Flexibility decides who stays
Rigid office mandates raise attrition risk.
Job-hunting within six months
Onsite
56%
Hybrid
41%
Hybrid companies expecting growth in 2025
Hybrid
75%
Non-hybrid
58%
80%Of workers strongly prefer hybrid or remote
91%Of companies pushing more office time
40%Of hybrid workers would forgo a raise to keep flexibility
A global talent magnet
Admission schemes and rankings keep the pipeline open.
4thGlobally and 1st in Asia, IMD World Talent Ranking 2025
350,000+Approvals from 520,000+ applications since late 2022
160,000Scheme participants and families arrived
81.4%Top Talent Pass Scheme approval rate
70%Of pass holders are under 40
60Professions across 9 segments on the Talent List
Sector pulse
Finance leads the recovery; the IPO rebound is the catalyst.
+4,800Finance jobs added in 12 months to Sep 2025 (+2.4%), reaching 271,800
+6,900Professional services jobs, reaching 423,900
HK$60bn+New stock capital raised in 2025, a sixfold increase
What it means
Employers: hiring volume matters less than securing scarce skills, so close the pay gap selectively and build flexible pipelines.
Job seekers: AI literacy, specialist expertise and adaptability are the strongest currency in 2026.
Source: 9cv9 Research Team, "Top 153 Recruitment Statistics, Data and Trends in Hong Kong in 2026" (blog.9cv9.com). Underlying data from Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, ManpowerGroup, Robert Walters, KPMG, PwC, Randstad, IMD and others.