26th September 2023 – (Hong Kong) According to the latest data released by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) today, the average wage rate across various industry sectors surveyed experienced a 3.5% increase in nominal terms in June 2023 compared to the previous year.
Around 63% of companies reported an increase in average wage rates in June 2023 compared to the same period last year. Conversely, 33% of companies recorded a decrease in average wage rates, while the remaining 4% reported minimal changes.
After accounting for changes in consumer prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index (A), the overall average wage rate for the surveyed industry sections saw a real-term increase of 1.4% in June 2023 compared to the previous year.
In terms of payroll, the index of payroll per person engaged for all surveyed industry sectors showed a 3.2% increase in nominal terms in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year.
After adjusting for changes in consumer prices as measured by the Composite Consumer Price Index, the average payroll per person engaged experienced a real-term increase of 1.1% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the previous year.
The wage rate encompasses basic wages, regular allowances, and guaranteed bonuses, while payroll includes elements covered by the wage rate as well as irregular payments such as discretionary bonuses and overtime allowances. Consequently, payroll statistics tend to exhibit larger quarter-to-quarter fluctuations, influenced by actual working hours and the timing of bonus and back-pay disbursements.
In terms of nominal wage indices, all selected industry sections witnessed year-on-year increases in June 2023, ranging from 2.5% to 6.0%.
For real wage indices, all selected industry sections also experienced year-on-year increases in June 2023, ranging from 0.3% to 3.8%.
Regarding the nominal indices of payroll per person engaged, all selected industry sections recorded year-on-year increases in the second quarter of 2023, ranging from 0.1% to 9.9%.
For real payroll indices, all selected industry sections, except for the social and personal services section, observed year-on-year increases ranging from 0.5% to 7.7% in the second quarter of 2023. The social and personal services section experienced a year-on-year decrease of 1.9%.
A Government spokesman highlighted that the year-on-year increases in nominal wages and labour earnings gained further momentum in the second quarter of 2023, reflecting the ongoing improvement in the labour market. After adjusting for inflation, both wages and labour earnings exhibited real-term growth.
The average nominal wage rate for all selected industries increased by 3.5% in June 2023, surpassing the growth rate observed three months ago. After accounting for inflation, the average wage rate experienced a real-term increase of 1.4%.
Nominal payroll per person engaged, which includes basic wages, discretionary bonuses, and other irregular payments, registered a year-on-year increase of 3.2% in the second quarter of 2023, outpacing the growth recorded in the previous quarter. Adjusted for inflation, payroll per person engaged saw a real-term increase of 1.1%. Nominal payroll per person engaged for all selected industries exhibited gains, with many sectors experiencing faster growth compared to the previous quarter.
Looking ahead, the ongoing recovery in inbound tourism and local consumption is expected to drive labour demand, providing support to wages and labour earnings in the near future.