January

The year 2009 began with three Cathay Pacific Airways flight attendants winning a partial victory in the holiday pay case. The ruling was expected to have an effect on 4,000 claims of a similar nature, particularly those concerning salaries comprised largely of sales commission, allowances and holiday pay, with an estimated HK$1 billion at stake.

February

More than 46,000 jobs were guaranteed as 180 Hong Kong employers signed a no-layoffs charter. Meanwhile, more than 4,000 vacancies with government departments and insurance companies were offered at the Education and Careers Expo 2009. While the government is providing job vacancies with monthly salaries up to HK$20,000, small- and medium-enterprises were adjusting their starting salaries downwards, with fresh graduates receiving only about HK$8,000 a month.

March

The Provisional Minimum Wage Commission was formed, with Teresa Cheng as chairman and 12 members hailing from the labour and business sectors, academia and government departments. The commission will receive secretariat support from the Labour Department.

April

ECA International's salary trends survey covering 108 Hong Kong companies showed that pay rises for Hong Kong employees averaged only two per cent, returning to SARS levels. On the other hand, more than 40 per cent of Hong Kong employees that took part in a Robert Walters research were willing to accept contract jobs, a proportion higher than those of Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, whereas another 40 per cent of them would accept contract terms only if no other options were available.

May

In view of the foreseeable growth in the building and construction industry, 59 companies in the field signed a charter pledging to offer fresh graduates in building and construction and engineering an annual income of no less than HK$144,000. A job fair organised by the Labour Department attracted participation from 60 companies and more than 3,000 jobseekers.

June

Hiring in the first 19 weeks of this year averaged only 27.3 per cent, according to statistics from the Career Times and City University of Hong Kong index. This marked a record low since the 2003 SARS outbreak. Recruitment advertisements averaged 2,800 per week, down 66.4 per cent and 68.8 per cent respectively from the same period in 2008 and the year before. During the SARS period, job advertisements averaged 4,100 per week. The number of positions available in the finance and banking sectors continued to decline, with the retail sector showing a double-digit decrease.

July

The government's new Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO) came into force, after the Legislative Council's consideration of the third draft of the Code of Practice on Employment under the RDO. Hong Kong law now prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the grounds of gender, pregnancy, disability, family status and race, and also has specific provisions against sexual harassment in the workplace.

August

In the wake of the economic upturn, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank resumed recruitment. The government had also successfully placed more than 100 university graduates in jobs under its trainee scheme which included more than 1,000 trainee positions from 21 mainland enterprises among others offered by local companies.

September

Government statistics showed that more than 1,320,000 Hong Kong workers were not using any company medical benefits, among these a quarter of them hold managerial and "professional" positions. The average salary level of the same labour segment plummeted by 11.1 per cent since the first quarter in 2009.

October

Hong Kong workers are known for their diligence, spending a weekly average of 48.4 hours at work, compared with 40 hours recommended by the International Labour Organization. Figures from a study by the Community Business and the HKU brought to light the lack of life balance—over 70 per cent of people interviewed had less than two hours per day to pursue personal interests. This can cause stress, which may have contributed to the reported average of 80,000 to 100,000 monthly sick hours, according to an HSBC survey.

November

"Big four" accounting firms announced plans to recruit approximately 5,000 professionals from Hong Kong and the mainland in 2010, with a monthly salary of around HK$11,000 on average. More than 53,600 people this year sat the civil service's Common Recruitment Examination (CRE), an increase of 40 per cent compared with last year's total. In November alone, more than 17,000 people applied for 25 AO vacancies.

December

The number of associate degree graduates entering the employment market dropped 10 per cent from last year's figures, according to results from a PolyU HKCC survey. It reports also a 10 per cent drop in the average entry-level salary. Conversely, a 10 per cent increase in recruitment is forecast for the reviving building and construction sector in Hong Kong and Macau.

Taken from Career Times 8 January 2010, p. B7
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