Hong Kong Employment Falls to 3.67 Million as Trade, Retail Shed Jobs

Hong Kong’s total employment fell to approximately 3.67 million in 2025, with the import-export trade, retail and construction sectors recording some of the largest year-on-year declines.

The Hong Kong government’s Census and Statistics Department reported on Aug. 17 that total employment stood at 3,673,200 in 2025, down 0.6 percent from 2024.

Among the sectors recording notable declines, employment in both retail and import-export trade fell by 4.3 percent. Retail lost 11,200 jobs, while import-export trade lost 14,600. Construction employment fell by 4.2 percent, a decrease of 14,800 jobs.

Hong Kong remains a predominantly service-oriented economy. According to the government report, service industries accounted for 88.3 percent of total employment in 2025, roughly unchanged from 87.9 percent in 2024.

The largest major industry group was “public administration, and social and personal services,” which employed about 1.14 million people and accounted for 31 percent of total employment. Its share of employment increased from 29.2 percent in 2020.

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“Financing and insurance, real estate, and professional and business services” remained the second-largest major industry group, employing more than 844,000 people and accounting for 23 percent of total employment. Its share increased slightly from 22.5 percent in 2020.

Employment in trade, wholesale and retail drops by about 112,000

The “import/export, wholesale and retail trades” sector was Hong Kong’s third-largest major industry group in 2025, employing approximately 616,000 people, or 16.8 percent of total employment.

That represented a 15.4 percent decline from approximately 728,000 workers in 2020, a reduction of about 112,000 jobs.

Import-export trade recorded the steepest decline within the group, falling 17.7 percent from 2020 to 2025, a loss of 69,800 jobs. Retail employment declined 12.7 percent, or 35,900 jobs, while wholesale employment also fell 12.7 percent, a reduction of 6,400 positions.

Manufacturing employment edged up 0.5 percent from 2024 to 2025 but remained 10.6 percent below its 2020 level, representing a net loss of 9,100 jobs over the five-year period.

Construction presents a more mixed picture. Although employment in the sector fell 4.2 percent year over year in 2025, it remained 7.6 percent higher than in 2020, according to HK01.

Employment rebounded after pandemic-era decline

The Census and Statistics Department said employment declined across a number of industries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 2020 to 2022, total employment across all industries fell by 2.1 percent, or 77,600 people. Employment rebounded in 2023 before remaining generally stable in 2024 and 2025.

Despite the latest year-on-year decline, total employment in 2025 was still 1.6 percent, or approximately 59,000 workers, higher than in 2022.

Some sectors also recorded substantial employment growth between 2020 and 2025. These included human health and social work services, electricity, gas and water supply and waste management, construction, public administration, and real estate.

The figures illustrate a continuing shift in the composition of Hong Kong’s workforce, with employment contracting significantly in traditional trade and retail industries while increasing in several service-oriented sectors.

Scholars cite aging population and structural changes

Economists cited by Oriental Daily said Hong Kong is confronting an aging population and low birth rate, with some workers reaching retirement age faster than they are being replaced by new entrants to the workforce.

At the same time, several industries are undergoing structural changes.

In retail, economists pointed to Hong Kong residents increasingly traveling to mainland China to shop, taking vacations abroad and making purchases online as factors contributing to weaker retail activity and fewer jobs.

The import-export trade has meanwhile been affected by U.S.-China trade tensions and sluggish global economic conditions, which have weakened demand in traditional European and U.S. markets, according to the report.

These pressures have contributed to a significant longer-term contraction in employment in both retail and import-export trade.

Imported labor raises concerns for local workers

Retail, construction and import-export trade are among the main sectors covered by the Hong Kong government’s expanded labor-importation policies.

Economists cited by Oriental Daily warned that large-scale reliance on imported workers could alter the structure of the labor market. In particular, experienced local workers who command higher wages could face greater employment pressure if employers choose to hire lower-cost imported labor.

The report noted that the government has recently begun tightening quotas and employment ratios for imported workers, which could slow the pace of foreign-worker recruitment.

Hong Kong’s employment figures nevertheless point to a broader restructuring of the labor market. Traditional industries such as import-export trade, wholesale, retail and manufacturing employ substantially fewer people than they did five years ago, while areas including health and social work, public administration and real estate have recorded employment growth.