George Leung Siu-kay, CEO of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, speaks during a press conference organized to announce the results of the Talent Shortage Survey 2023 on June 6, 2023. (LI XIAOYUN/ CHINA DAILY)

Nearly three-quarters of Hong Kong enterprises are facing the lingering impact of a talent shortage due to labor outflow and employees’ desire for a better work-life balance, according to a survey released by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

Of the 196 companies surveyed, 74 percent were affected by an insufficient talent supply, and 61 percent of them said they have had staffing issues for the past one to three years.

Hong Kong companies in various industries have taken diverse measures to address talent shortages, according to the survey results

The survey revealed that more than 80 percent of enterprises surveyed have seen a shortage of junior staff and midlevel employees, with half of them lacking managers with an annual base salary between HK$200,000 ($25,504) and HK$500,000.

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Employees’ desire for higher salaries stands as one of the most important reasons that companies are understaffed, followed by emigration and the pursuit of a better work-life balance.

“Hong Kong’s talent outflow, primarily driven by emigration waves, has not slowed yet, leading the workforce to shrink by 210,000 from early 2019 to late 2022,” chamber CEO George Leung Siu-kay said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Hong Kong companies in various industries have taken diverse measures to address talent shortages, according to the survey results.

Offering better pay packages is the first choice of companies to vie for professionals, and many of them have ratcheted up investment in staff training or in automation to reduce their reliance on manpower. It is noteworthy that 21 percent of the enterprises have considered additional steps to remove some or even all operations from Hong Kong.

The special administrative region government has formulated a number of projects to alleviate the impact of labor shortage on economic recovery, including the Top Talent Pass Scheme, officially launched in December, which aims to attract professionals earning at least HK$2.5 million a year and graduates from the world’s top 100 universities.

Eighty percent of the companies surveyed, however, have not applied for any government-sponsored talent programs while wrestling with staffing issues, as more than half of them said the programs did not apply to the opening positions.

Around 40 percent of the enterprises said that the government could broaden the criteria and streamline the application process for its existing talent programs to bring in nonlocal professionals, including those from other parts of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, the government should also introduce additional policy incentives and subsidies to help enterprises retain and train employees.

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The survey suggested that fully mobilizing local staff and importing professionals are the two major ways to solve the issue of manpower shortage in Hong Kong.

Three-quarters of the companies surveyed believed that in terms of tapping the local workforce, the government should provide training to employees and set up more affordable day-care and elderly-care centers to boost the female workforce.

“Staffing issues could place a strong constraint on Hong Kong’s development,” said Leung, urging the government to simplify the processing of current talent admission programs to attract nonlocal labor.

Contact the writer at irisli@chinadailyhk.com