A survey by ManpowerGroup shows Hong Kong's net employment outlook for the third quarter fell to minus 9 per cent. Experts warn that AI is reducing entry-level opportunities for fresh graduates.
The net employment outlook, which measures the difference between employers planning to hire more staff and those planning to cut jobs, dropped 20 percentage points from the previous quarter.
Lam Wai-kong, an employee representative on the Labour Advisory Board and a lawmaker for the labour sector, said employers are focusing on immediate productivity and avoiding investment in graduate training. This has led some to hire imported workers for technical roles instead of local graduates.
Lam warned of risks including a shortage of mid-level local talent and a breakdown in the transmission of experience. He noted that incoming firms in the Northern Metropolis could sideline local graduates without stricter hiring rules linked to land and tax incentives.