Hong Kong SAR, China flag Hong Kong SAR, China: Operating a Business in Hong Kong SAR, China

Work conditions in Hong Kong SAR, China

The Active Population in Figures

	2023	2024	2025
Labour Force	3,822,299	3,807,406	3,811,252

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

	2022	2023	2024
Total activity rate	71.37%	70.93%	71.22%
Men activity rate	78.88%	78.29%	78.13%
Women activity rate	65.40%	65.13%	65.81%

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

For Further Information About the Labour Market: Statistics, regarding the education level of households and residents

Working Conditions

Legal Weekly Duration: Between 40 and 48 hours
Retirement Age: There is no mandatory retirement age in Hong Kong; however, the common practice is 65 years for both men and women.
Working Contracts: The labor contract is mainly drawn-up by the law. It is completed by collective negotiations and agreements.
The formalism of the labour contract, hiring conditions and lay-off constraints are relatively flexible. CDI and the CDD are the two existing types of contracts.
Labour Laws: Consult Doing Business Website, to obtain a summary of the labor regulations that apply to local entreprises.

Cost of Labour

Minimum Wage: Hong Kong’s statutory minimum wage is HKD 42.1 (approx. USD 5.5) per hour for most workers (effective from May 2025) under the Minimum Wage Ordinance enacted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong SAR.
Average Wage: The average monthly salary in Hong Kong is 20,500 Hong Kong dollars (HKD), which translates to around USD 2,628.
Social Contributions: Social Security Contributions Paid By Employers: Employers are required to deduct 5% and contribute a further 5% to the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), calculated on a maximum income of HKD 30,000.
Social Security Contributions Paid By Employees: For employees with monthly income above HKD 7,100, a 5% withholding tax (capped at HKD 1,500) is levied as contribution to the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF).

Social Partners

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners: Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions - (HKCTU) gathers several trade unions. Their power remains very weak.
Labour Unions: Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU)
Unionisation Rate: The unionization rate was about 23.6% in 2011.
Labour Regulation Bodies: Labour Department

Any Comment About This Content? Report It to Us.

Starting a BusinessPrevious

Calls may be monitored or recorded in case we need to check we have carried out your instructions correctly and to help improve our quality of service. Lloyds and Lloyds Bank are trading names of Lloyds Bank plc, Bank of Scotland plc, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc and Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH. The products and services outlined on this site may be offered by legal entities from across Lloyds Banking Group, including Lloyds Bank plc and Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc.
Lloyds Bank plc and Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc are separate legal entities within the Lloyds Banking Group. Lloyds Bank plc. Registered Office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales no. 2065. Bank of Scotland plc. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Registered in Scotland no. SC327000. Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc.
Registered office 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales no. 10399850. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 119278, 169628 and 763256 respectively. Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc.
Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH has its registered office at Thurn-und-Taxis Platz 6, 60313 Frankfurt, Germany. The company is registered with the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, HRB 111650. Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH is supervised by the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht. Eligible deposits with us are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). We are covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Please note that due to FSCS and FOS eligibility criteria not all business customers will be covered.