Influx of mainland Chinese workers in HK puts locals on edge

City's labour import measures to plug workforce gaps raise competition for jobs

- Magdalene Fung

HONG KONG - Fresh graduate Mark Wong was on the hunt for a job in Hong Kong even before his official graduation in May.

After failing to land a graduate-level job in the past four months, the 23-year-old local physics graduate is now applying for roles that do not require a degree.

Yet, even those jobs are proving hard to come by, and he is getting more frustrated by the day.

Mr Wong attributes the difficult job market to an influx of mainland Chinese workers into Hong Kong, which he feels is worsening the situation for local job seekers like him.

"Hong Kong's job market is already highly competitive," he told The Straits Times.

"Mainland applicants, attracted by Hong Kong's salaries and benefits, make it hard for me to compete for the professional, graduate jobs out there. Even in blue-collar roles like the one I'm now applying for, mainland workers are also directly competing for the limited positions."

Mr Wong, who has applied to no avail for roles such as data analyst and software engineer, is now seeking employment as an aviation security officer. But he already feels disadvantaged.

"My friends have observed that most of the aviation security officers at the airport now are putonghua-speaking mainlanders," he said, referring to Mandarin.

"I also learnt from my relative working in that role that almost no locals were recruited into his team this year. The company may see it as more beneficial to hire mainlanders than locals.

"This makes me feel very stressed and concerned about the future of the job market and the economy in Hong Kong," he added.

The rising numbers of imported workers, particularly from the mainland, in recent years appear to be generating growing public discontent among locals.

Even former chief executive Leung Chun Ying has given voice to the sentiment.