The average annual salary of university graduates in Hong Kong last year hit HK$314,000 (US$40,213), a 3.6 per cent jump on 2022, but the smallest increase since 2021.
Graduates from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) remained the top earners among the eight publicly-funded institutions, with an average salary of HK$385,000 a year and the lowest unemployment rate at 1.2 per cent, it was revealed on Friday.
The latest figures released by the University Grants Committee (UGC), which covered 20,773 bachelor’s degree graduates in 2023, revealed the average annual salary went up HK$11,000 -3.6 per cent – from the HK$303,000 recorded in 2022.
But the average annual salary for Hong Kong graduates went up 7.8 per cent in 2022 and the increase in 2021 was 5.6 per cent.
Chinese University of Hong Kong took second spot in 2023, with its new graduates making an average of HK$376,000 last year.
Education University was in third place with an average annual salary of HK$363,000.
New graduates of Lingnan University earned the least – their average salary was HK$238,000.
The Tuen Mun-based university’s graduates also had the highest unemployment rate at 3.5 per cent.
The rate for graduates who were not seeking employment, city residents who emigrated and non-residents who returned to their home countries, was 6.6 per cent, the highest level since records began in the 2003-2004 academic year.
The figure for the category in 2022 was 5.6 per cent and 6.3 per cent for the year before.
HKU and Chinese University have the city’s only medical schools, where graduates are likely to earn more than other students after graduation.
UGC statistics showed that graduates in medicine, dentistry and healthcare earned HK$506,000 a year, the highest among the available subjects.
Graduates in arts and humanities earned the least with HK$269,000 a year, about half of what healthcare graduates can command.
Armstrong Lee Hon-cheung, the managing director of recruitment agency Worldwide Consulting Group, said the findings were not a surprise.
Lee said the small increase in the average annual salary for graduates last year reflected a downbeat mood in the business world.
“When employers hired university graduates, there was not a significant increase in salary, and some even reduced the pay a bit,” he said.
Lee added the business environment was expected to remain in the doldrums this year as major sectors, such as retail, real estate and finance, continued to struggle.
The global economy was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong is still struggling with the after-effects.
“When the few major sectors, which are key in pushing Hong Kong’s economic growth, have not displayed a strong rebound and some have even shown a decline … the other sectors would also not be performing well,” Lee explained.
HKU said 2023 was the 18th consecutive year of full employment for its bachelor’s degree graduates.
The university added that almost 97 per cent of graduates who had secured jobs were working in Hong Kong.
Commerce and industry were the largest employers of HKU graduates.
The university’s graduates also landed more jobs in community, social and personal services roles, as well as in the civil service.
