Job ads mentioning "hybrid" go up by 42% year-on-year in Hong Kong

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HR is among the functions seeing the most job advertisements, but sales & customer service job ads lead the way.

As the impact of the pandemic subsides, Hong Kong's job market has become increasingly active. According to the latest job ads data from JobsDB, Hong Kong employees are generally quitting after less than two years per job.

This has an impact on job market, as the report showed the total number of job advertisements in 2022 has increased by 53% compared to the early pandemic period in 2020. Overall, job advertisements grew 4.7% year-on-year in 2022.

The top five job functions with the most job advertisements are:

• Sales & customer service (CS)
• IT
• Admin & HR
• Banking/finance
• Accounting

As Hong Kong continues to lift quarantine arrangements, along with the reopening of China-Hong Kong borders, local businesses are actively accelerating their pace of recruitment. Recruitment for certain front-line service sectors and tourism-related industries has shown significant growth as a result.

Three sectors that are seeing significant growth in job advertisements include:

• Tourism / travel agency, increased by 46% year-on-year, a growth of 101.6% compared to 2020;
• Aviation services, increase by 36% year-on-year, a growth of 61.1% compared to 2020;
• Hospitality / hotel service, increase by 28% year-on-year, a growth of 61.1% compared to 2020.

As recruitment activities resume, post-pandemic turnover has also become more frequent, with the median tenure of employment in 2022 at 21 months, or less than two years per job, decreasing by 13% year-on-year.

Job-hopping frequency has accelerated especially for younger recruits aged 18 to 25. Their average tenure has shortened by two months compared to pre-COVID times, with an average duration of one-and-a-half years (or 17.5 months) before switching to a new position. The phenomenon is especially pronounced amongst workplace newbies aged 18 to 22, who have an average tenure length of less than a year (just 9.3 months).

Among the many keywords used by job seekers during the job hunt, “hybrid” (hybrid working arrangements) holds the most appeal. “Flexible work”, “hybrid”, “remote work”, and “work from home” continued to be popular keywords in recruitment advertisements for 2022.

In terms of search volume for recruitment and job seeking, “work from home” remained the obvious lead but its search volume has fallen by 16% compared to the previous year. On the other hand, “hybrid” saw a surge in popularity, with a 156% year-on-year increase in search volume. Job advertisements mentioning “hybrid” have seen an average of 42% year-on-year increase in the number of applications.

Bill Lee, Managing Director of JobsDB Hong Kong, saw a growing desire amongst candidates, particularly younger employees, looking for flexibility in and out of the workplace.

"Employers should take these changing needs and preferences into consideration when crafting human resource policies to remain competitive in the job market," he said. "By offering flexibility in the workplace and embracing the advantages of hybrid working, hirers can keep their vacancies appealing and improve overall job satisfaction of their workforce.”

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