Hong Kong job openings hit 6-year low in 69% of sectors amid AI’s ascent

AdvertisementHong Kong economyHong KongHong Kong EconomyExclusive | Hong Kong job openings hit 6-year low in 69% of sectors amid AI’s ascentVacancies in 23 out of 33 job sectors, including IT and customer service, fell to their lowest number in six years3-MIN READ3-MIN2 ListenTheodora YuPublished: 10:00am, 13 Mar 2026Updated: 10:05am, 13 Mar 2026Hong Kong’s fresh graduates are facing increasingly challenging career prospects, with 69 per cent of job sectors recording their fewest vacancies in six years, a trend experts attribute to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and a sluggish economy.Figures from the Joint Institution Job Information System, a centralised online job information platform shared by the city’s eight publicly funded universities, also showed that the number of job vacancies fell to a five-year low of 30,798 last year, down by 51.5 per cent from 2021.In 2025, 23 out of 33 job sectors – 69 per cent – recorded their lowest number of vacancies in six years.AdvertisementIndustries with fewer job openings were those heavily associated with the use of artificial intelligence, such as information technology and programming, customer service, and administrative or clerical work.In the 2024-25 academic year, the eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong produced 29,676 graduates in total, with nearly 75 per cent, or 22,255 students, earning undergraduate degrees.AdvertisementBy comparison, during 2020-21, which coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic, the total number of graduates was slightly lower at 28,861, of whom 77 per cent or 22,333 students, were undergraduates.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x