Why are Hong Kong’s fresh graduates struggling to find a job?

With a diploma in hand, a job is nowhere in sight. Hong Kong University graduates are walking into the toughest job market in five years. Job vacancies have dropped by more than half, and youth unemployment has climbed to 12.3%, the second highest level on record. Tens of thousands of students finish university each year, but

the first rung on the career ladder is disappearing beneath their feet.

Karina, a communication graduate from one of Hong Kong's eight public universities, never imagined she would face unemployment, let alone twice in a single year. I

would send almost 10 to 10. I've been

applying for this, but many of them are not coming back.

Trina was among the 17,500 people aged 20 to 24 who were

unemployed in late 2025. On social media, graduates share the same frustration. One said he had applied for more than 400 jobs since June and received zero offers.

In 2025, there were only about 30,000 full-time graduate jobs available in Hong Kong.

That figure is the lowest it's been in five years, even worse than during the pandemic slump of 2021. Economists say the problem goes beyond the economic slowdown. If we look at the general situation from the macroeconomic

economic slowdown. If we look at the general situation from the macroeconomic perspective, then Hong Kong is undergoing a jobless recovery, which means that even though growth number may be doing okay, but if you look at the number of jobs being created, this is definitely not catching up. The recovery is creating profits

faster than positions, especially at the bottom rung of the ladder. If you look at the job creation perspective, definitely we do see structural changes in firms not needing as many junior staff as before. One reason for this trend is the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. It has replaced most of the corporate

groundwork, such as data cleaning, basic analysis and administrative tasks. which were

typically performed by junior employees early in their careers. By 2025,

three quarters of Hong Kong's Meng's integrated AI into their operations. I would say AI has become a necessary factor rather than a choice for companies to adopt it. So therefore, this will definitely be a decisive factor down the road. And

adopt it. So therefore, this will definitely be a decisive factor down the road. And

what we see right now is that a lot of firms, they may try to explore different AI solutions, trying to reduce costs, including labor costs.

People used to think that, you know, people who work in the creative industry, you know, they don't need to worry, you know, because AI could not do creative things, but these days, as we know, AI is doing all kinds of creative things too.

I think the time will come that AI and robots would replace a lot of work. Even jobs with brain power will also be replaced.

Analysts say the traditional corporate job pyramid is being reshaped into a diamond, a small base of AI-powered execution a wider section of middle managers and a thin layer of executives at the top. That may boost efficiency, but it also means fewer entry-level roles and fewer chances for young people to work their way up.

At the same time, take-home pay is barely moving. The average salary for graduates in 2025 was less than HK$21,000 a month. That figure

is only a 0.5% rise from the year before, the smallest growth in recent years. Because in Beijing, we have a degree of degree in high school, although

years. Because in Beijing, we have a degree of degree in high school, although it is not a special degree, but when we work, we also want to have a certain salary. So I think it's a $1.7 million or $1.8 million. A

quick scroll on job posting websites shows that most positions labelled as entry level have a minimum requirement exceeding two years of experience. An account manager with a professional networking platform says employers are now leaning towards hiring graduates who are more job ready. The main driver is Because of the cost reduction

exercise, I don't think they have a bandwidth to really have a very holistic program to educate someone from really, really fresh to able to work. So that's why they would like to make sure those graduate, even graduate, they have experience in internship, part-time. At least they are not really starting from scratch, zero experience. They are more

part-time. At least they are not really starting from scratch, zero experience. They are more job ready. For companies, this may seem efficient. but economists warn it

job ready. For companies, this may seem efficient. but economists warn it could damage Hong Kong's talent pipeline in the long run. But we also need new hires, you know, because otherwise we'll have a lot of unemployment and the skills that have been developed, you know, at universities over time, you

know, that will erode. They will depreciate. And so it's really necessary for these people, young people, to have work experience. If AI is here to stay, experts say graduates will need to work with it, not compete against it. The

mindset of AI plus is actually quite important. Firms will be hiring on the basis that AI will become definitely a tool that will be imposed. But

what can the new employee bring plus the AI skills or usage? So the ability to use AI and combine with the expertise is definitely one of the core skills that employers will be looking at in the future. By 2030,

70% of the jobs will be changed. So they are either totally disappeared or the same jobs, but it will be different skill set to finish the jobs. So this

is the norm. So when you look into those junior and graduate higher, this individual for sure have to be very good in AI literacy to make sure they can use different tools to be more efficient and effective. Beyond technical expertise, soft skills matter too. While she sends up more job applications, Trina

is using her free time to build new skills, from video editing to social media content. When I post these videos,

content. When I post these videos, there are many people who are going to forgive me.

I've been able to get to social media.

Experts see the expanding AI and fintech adoption as a silver lining. I am glad that a lot of very boring work is now disappearing fast. I think that kind of

work should be done by machines. If these boring work is now done by AI and robots, then we can have a lot of creative talents that can pursue their dreams in the creative world.