Hongkongers earned 4% more this year, but inflation cut bump down to 1.8% – and 2024 will be worse, report says
- City’s real salary growth, which factors in cost of living increases, falls in middle of regional rankings, according to ECA International
- Armstrong Lee, managing director at Worldwide Consulting Group, separately notes city’s median income has risen by 11 per cent to HK$20,000 this year
Hongkongers enjoyed a 4 per cent pay rise this year, but their real wage growth was only 1.8 per cent once inflation was taken into account, and even worse figures could be expected in 2024, a global consultancy company said in a report published on Tuesday.
But the city still managed to outperform Singapore this year due to lower inflation compared with the rest of the region, according to ECA International.
Real wage growth refers to increases in workers’ earnings that takes into account changes in the cost of living.
The consultancy firm said it expected salaries in Hong Kong to increase by 4 per cent next year, but real wage growth to fall to 1.7 per cent.
“As we look ahead, it’s promising to see that the nominal salary increase in Hong Kong has rebounded to pre-Covid levels in 2023, as expected, although real salary growth in Hong Kong in 2023 is in the middle of regional rankings, squarely at the median percentage,” said Mark Harrison, the company’s general manager in Asia.
