Hiring outlook improves for Hong Kong's financial sector, recruiters say

Hong Kong's fiscal services assemblage could boost hiring by arsenic overmuch arsenic 15 per cent adjacent year, fuelled by buoyant superior markets and maturation successful assets nether management, according to a planetary recruitment agency.

The surging equity markets successful Hong Kong and mainland China had boosted revenues and budgets for hiring concern professionals and traders, said John Mullally, managing manager for Hong Kong astatine Robert Walters.

The jobs marketplace would beryllium "more functional", with hiring crossed the fiscal services assemblage apt to emergence by 10 to 15 per cent successful 2026, though it would stay beneath the levels seen a fewer years ago, helium said. "It'll beryllium slower but steadier."

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Hong Kong's concern and security industries employed astir 268,000 radical successful the 2nd 4th of this year, an summation of 4.5 per cent from a twelvemonth earlier, according to the Census and Statistics Department. That tally is inactive abbreviated of a grounds 287,800 successful 2021 earlier it dropped to 261,000 successful 2024.

Finance firms successful Hong Kong are expanding their headcount, according to recruiters. Photo: K. Y. Cheng alt=Finance firms successful Hong Kong are expanding their headcount, according to recruiters. Photo: K. Y. Cheng>

Mullally said his steadfast had seen an uptick of astir 20 per cent successful unrecorded roles coming to marketplace successful caller months, compared with the archetypal quarter. "But that hasn't translated into a akin emergence successful offers [as] assurance is inactive lacking."

Some banks rushed to prosecute successful 2021 and 2022 lone to marque redundancies soon after, resulting successful a much cautious stance now, helium said. Banks were besides prioritising outgo efficiencies and savings, starring to a higher barroom to finalise a hire, Mullally added.

HSBC Holdings, Hong Kong's largest banking radical by assets, is undergoing a two-year revamp that involves combining units and selling noncore businesses. In May, its soon-to-be-merged subsidiary Hang Seng Bank chopped arsenic overmuch arsenic 20 per cent of unit successful immoderate departments, with the hardest-hit squad reduced by astir half, according to a Post report.

"Candidates are besides much hazard averse erstwhile it comes to moving jobs fixed the deficiency of occupation information implicit the past 2 to 3 years," Mullally said.

However, greenish shoots were emerging, according to recruiters.

"It's rather evident that successful the 3rd quarter, we person had much enactment successful the fiscal services area," said Elaine Lam, managing manager astatine Robert Half Hong Kong, different planetary recruitment firm.