Experts have warned that the HK$1 (13 US cents) increase in Hong Kong’s minimum wage, which takes effect on Labour Day, is unlikely to significantly boost low-paid workers’ incomes, but should help preserve purchasing power and ease labour tensions under a new formula.

Human resources expert Alexa Chow Yee-ping, managing director of ACTS Consulting, said the latest rise broadly aligned with recent pay trends.

“The actual impact is not significant, as the increase is roughly the same as last year,” she said.

Hong Kong’s statutory minimum wage will rise to HK$43.10 per hour from Friday, up HK$1 from the current HK$42.10, following the Executive Council’s adoption in February of a recommendation by the Minimum Wage Commission.

The 2.38 per cent increase is the second under a new formula introduced in 2024, which factors in indicators such as inflation and economic growth, replacing the previous system of periodic reviews without a fixed mechanism.

Under the revised framework, the wage is now reviewed annually rather than every two years, with adjustments floored at zero to prevent reductions.