香港勞動力出現近 40 年來最大跌幅

Hong Kong's Workforce Sees Its Biggest Drop in Almost 40 Years

Kari Lindberg

Mon, April 3, 2023 at 9:13 p.m. PDT

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong’s labor market has seen its sharpest drop on record, underscoring the city’s challenges with an aging population and outflow of talent.

The Asian hub’s working population fell by 94,100, down 2.4% in 2022, according to data released Monday by the Census and Statistics Department. This is the largest labor plummet since the government began keeping records in 1985.

Hong Kong is running an uphill battle as the government seeks to kick-start an economy that recorded its third annual contraction in four years. Tens of thousands of people, including lawyers and bankers, left the city following the national security law and strict pandemic curbs.

A manpower shortage will affect services for the public and the city’s competitiveness, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said at a daily press conference on Tuesday.

Lee has made attracting talent a key priority for his administration. Last October, he started a global talent program that includes a two-year visa plan for high-income workers and top university graduates.

So far, the program has mostly attracted interest from Chinese. Most of the 10,000 some applications are from the mainland, according to local media.

The city is also competing with Singapore to attract wealth business. The government announced in March that it would cut taxes for family offices.

One of Hong Kong’s biggest hurdles is staffing up its tourism sector dented by Covid curbs. The industry, along with exports, could help the economy grow by an estimated 7.6%, according to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecast.

Translation

（彭博社）- 香港的勞動力市場出現了有記錄以來的最大跌幅，凸顯了這座城市面臨的人口老齡化和人才外流的挑戰。

根據政府統計處週一公佈的數據，這個亞洲樞紐的工作人口在 2022 年減少了 94,100 人，跌幅為 2.4%。 這是自 1985 年政府開始記錄以來最大的勞動力急跌。

香港正在打一場艱苦的戰鬥，因為政府試圖啟動一個四年來第三次出現年度收縮的經濟體。 包括律師和銀行家在內的數万人因為國家安全法和嚴格的流行病遏制措施離開了這座城市。

香港行政長官李家超週二在每日新聞發布會上表示，人力短缺將影響公眾服務和城市競爭力。

李將吸引人才作為其政府的首要任務。 去年 10 月，他啟動了一項全球人才計劃，其中包括針對高收入工人和頂尖大學畢業生的兩年簽證計劃。

到目前為止，該計劃主要吸引了中國人的興趣。 據當地媒體報導，這 10,000 份申請中的大部分來自大陸。

該市還與新加坡競爭吸引財富業務。 政府在三月份宣布將對家族辦公室減稅。

香港最大的障礙之一是為因新冠肺炎疫情實施的限制措施而被削弱的旅遊業去填補員工。 根據高盛集團的預測，該行業加上出口業可以幫助經濟增長 7.6%。

              So, Hong Kong’s working population fell by 94,100, down 2.4% in 2022. This is the largest labor plummet since the government began keeping records in 1985. I think many young people leave the city because of the national security law.