Ryan FowlerHong Kong’s average wage rate observed a 3.8% nominal increase in December 2023, as reported by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD). After adjusting for consumer price changes, the real wage rate saw a growth of 1.1% year-on-year. The transportation industry led the increase with a notable 5.2% in nominal wages and 2.5% in real wages, reflecting the highest growth among all sectors surveyed.
The data, part of the wage and payroll statistics for December 2023, presents a comprehensive view of the wage trends across various industry sections. Each sector recorded year-on-year gains in both nominal and real wage indices, with nominal increases ranging from 3.0% to 5.2%, and real wage increases spanning from 0.3% to 2.5%.
Approximately 64% of companies reported higher average wage rates in December 2023 compared to the previous year, whereas 32% of companies saw a decrease. Only 4% of the surveyed companies reported no change in average wage rates.
In terms of payroll, the index of payroll per person engaged rose by 3.6% in nominal terms in the fourth quarter of 2023 year-on-year. The real payroll per person engaged, after price adjustments, increased by 1.0%.
Nominal payroll indices for the fourth quarter showed increases across all selected industry sections, ranging from 2.7% to 9.6%. The real payroll indices varied from 0.1% to 6.8%, with the transportation, storage, postal, and courier services sector witnessing the most significant growth at 9.6% in nominal terms and 6.8% in real terms.
