Starting salaries of Hong Kong bachelor’s graduates end five-year upward trend

The average starting salary for university graduates of bachelor’s degrees in Hong Kong remained at HK$19,500 this year, marking the end of a five-year upward trend amid the US-China trade war, a survey has found. 

The “2025 Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area Pay and Benefits Survey” published on Oct. 23, also reported that the production, sales, and customer service sectors face the highest declines in the starting salary.

"Due to Hong Kong's poor economic conditions and uncertain future outlook, some employers tend to lower the starting salary for fresh graduates," said Huang Xu, director of the Centre for Human Resources Strategy and Development at Hong Kong Baptist University, who led this survey.

Huang said Hong Kong’s current economic situation is significantly impacted by the new round of the US-China trade war that began in April this year, and that is one of the reasons why the average starting salary for university graduates has not increased as expected.

"In our long-term tracking of employee salaries offered by 2,000 Hong Kong companies, we observed a significant decline following the outbreak of the trade war in April," said Huang.

The average salary increase rate in Hong Kong is 2.5%, and it is below last year's figures of 3.5%.

This year’s survey was conducted from July to September, with a total of 258 participating companies that represent over 240,000 employees.

Gou Jyun-lung, 20, who studies interactive design at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the average starting salary meets his expectations for his first job in the future. 

"With many universities in Hong Kong expanding enrollment, competition for jobs is becoming more intense,” Gou said. “So, if my future salary can reach HK$19,500, I would be satisfied."

Zhang Que, 21, is a final-year social science student who is currently looking for a job, and she was surprised by the starting salary.

“HK$19,500 is higher than my expectation of HK$16,000, and it's already good that starting salaries haven't declined under the current poor economic conditions,” said Zhang.

Despite students' acceptance of the slipping salary, Huang said the current salaries do not match the productivity of Hong Kong’s university graduates, and he strongly hopes the former upward trend in starting salaries can continue.

“The Hong Kong government has launched some youth employment support policies, which not only facilitate job placement for young people but are also expected to increase the starting salaries for graduates,” said Huang.

The survey also found that this year’s pay raises across cities in the Greater Bay Area were generally lower than last year's. 

“Employee wages constitute a significant portion of operating costs for many companies and are crucial to business survival,” said Huang.

Therefore, amid the current economic downturn, numerous firms are opting to control labor expenses, which has resulted in an overall slowdown in salary growth.

Although pay rises across the Greater Bay Area cities have generally declined this year, the report shows that around 15% of the participating companies still reported salary increases of more than 4.5%.