Economic Letters

13 August 2024

• An overview of the change in Hong Kong's labour force (PDF) (Word)
  Eric Cheung
  After having shown a general uptrend for years, Hong Kong's labour force reached a peak in 2018 and then declined in the following several years, before showing some bounce-back in 2023. This article examines the contributory factors behind these changes. In gist, the working-age population generally increased in the past three decades or so except the pandemic period, but the change in age structure has been a persistent drag on the overall labour force participation rate amid the secular population ageing trend. Looking ahead, population ageing will continue to put downward pressure on the labour supply in the long term. In view of this, the HKSAR Government has implemented various measures to help boost labour supply.