Labour Department - Chapter 5 – Employment Services

The Programme of Employment Services

www.labour.gov.hk/eng/service/content.htm

5.2 The principal legislation administered by this programme area includes Part XII of the Employment Ordinance (EO), the Employment Agency Regulations made under the EO and the Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance (CEOHKO).

5.3 Part XII of the EO, together with the Employment Agency Regulations, regulates the operation of EAs in Hong Kong through licensing, inspection, investigation and prosecution.

5.4 The CEOHKO safeguards the interests of local manual employees and those non-manual employees with monthly wages not exceeding $20,000 who are employed by employers outside Hong Kong to work in other territories through attestation of employment contracts of such employments.

Our Work and Achievements in 2025

Employment Situation in Hong Kong

5.5 The labour market softened in the beginning of 2025, but showed signs of stabilisation towards the latter part of the year. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate retreated slightly to 3.8% in the fourth quarter from 3.9% in the previous quarter, after trending up from 3.2% in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate went up to 1.7% in the fourth quarter from 1.1% in the first quarter. For 2025 as a whole, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate were 3.7% and 1.5% respectively, higher than 3.0% and 1.2% in 2024. For updated statistics on the labour force, unemployment rate and underemployment rate, please visit the webpage:www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/web_table.html?id=6.

5.6 The Labour Department (LD) recorded 501 714 vacancies offered by employers of the private sector for free recruitment service in 2025. In the year, a total of 109 023 placements were secured (Appendices 5.1 and 5.2).

A Wider Service Choice

Job Centres

5.7 Job seekers can browse vacancies at job centres of the LD and seek referral service provided by the staff or apply to the employers direct. Job seekers can meet with employment officers to obtain personalised employment advisory services. Employment officers will also assist job seekers to join the employment programmes of the LD. Various facilities such as digital display systems, touchscreen vacancy search terminals, fax machines, toll-free telephones, computers connected to the Internet and resource corners are available for the use by job seekers.

Industry-based Recruitment Centres

5.8 The three industry-based recruitment centres of the LD, namely the Recruitment Centre for the Catering Industry, the Recruitment Centre for the Retail Industry and the Construction Industry Recruitment Centre, provide free as well as one-stop and on-the-spot recruitment services for employers and job seekers, enhancing the efficiency of recruitment and job search.

Telephone Employment Service

5.9 Job seekers registered at the LD may call our Telephone Employment Service Centre on (2969 0888) for job referral service. Through conference calls, staff of the centre can make arrangement for job seekers to talk to employers direct.

Online Employment Services

5.10 The LD’s Interactive Employment Service (iES) website (www.jobs.gov.hk) provides round-the-clock online employment services and comprehensive employment information. The iES website is the most popular government job board in Hong Kong, recording around 435 million page views in 2025. It hosts a number of thematic webpages to provide dedicated employment information for specific clientele. Job seekers can also use the iES mobile application anytime and anywhere to look for suitable vacancies in the job vacancy database of the LD and receive notifications on newly posted vacancies matched by the system according to their pre-set search criteria. The mobile application recorded around 250 million hit counts in 2025.

Job Vacancies

5.11 Employers who need to recruit staff can send their vacancy information to our Job Vacancy Processing Centre by fax (2566 3331) or through the Internet (www.jobs.gov.hk). The vacancy information is then disseminated through a network of job centres, three Industry-based recruitment centres, the iES website and mobile application as well as vacancy search terminals located in various sites throughout the territory after vetting.

Recruitment and Promotional Activities

5.12 The LD organises a variety of activities to promote our employment services and appeal for vacancies from employers. Job fairs are held to enable job seekers and employers to meet and communicate direct. Apart from large-scale job fairs staged at convenient locations, district-based job fairs are held at job centres to assist employers to recruit residents in the locality and to enable job seekers to participate in job interviews without having to travel long distance.

5.13 In 2025, 22 large-scale job fairs were held, attracting nearly 37 000 job seekers. At the same time, 737 district-based job fairs were organised, with over 15 000 on-the-spot interviews arranged.

Services provided for targeted groups

Elderly and Middle-aged Job Seekers

5.14 The LD provides dedicated employment services for the elderly and middle-aged persons and promote their employment through various means such as setting up special counters at job centres to provide priority registration and job referral service for the elderly and middle-aged job seekers, conducting employers' experience-sharing sessions, and organising employment briefings and job fairs targeting the elderly and middle-aged persons.

5.15 The LD launched the three-year Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme (REA Scheme) on 15 July 2024 to encourage persons aged 40 or above who have not been in paid employment for three consecutive months or more to rejoin the employment market. Each eligible participant who has worked for 12 consecutive months will receive a maximum re-employment allowance of $20,000. Since the implementation of the REA Scheme and up to 31 December 2025, nearly 64 000 participants and over 36 000 placements had been recorded.

5.16 In addition, the LD implements the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged (EPEM) to encourage employers to hire the elderly and middle-aged and provide them with on-the-job training (OJT) through the provision of OJT allowance. Employers engaging each job seeker aged 40 or above who has left the workforce can receive a maximum OJT allowance of $5,000 per month for three to 12 months. The EPEM covers both full-time and part-time jobs. There were 4 491 placements eligible for joining the programme in 2025.

New Arrival and Ethnic Minority Job Seekers

5.17 The LD’s job centres provide diversified employment services to new arrival and ethnic minority job seekers. These include employment advisory services, job referral, employment briefings and information resources. The job seekers in need are encouraged to participate in various employment programmes to enhance their employment opportunities.

5.18 The LD implements the Employment Services Ambassador Programme for Ethnic Minorities to employ trainees of the Youth Employment and Training Programme who can communicate in ethnic minority languages to work as Employment Services Ambassadors at job centres, industry-based recruitment centres and job fairs. Moreover, the LD since 2023 has employed more ethnic minorities as employment assistants and general assistants to strengthen employment and related support for the ethnic minorities communities. To enhance the employment opportunities of the ethnic minorities, two large-scale and 10 district-based inclusive job fairs were respectively organised in 2025.

5.19 The LD implements the Racial Diversity Employment Programme, commissioning non-governmental organisations to provide one-stop employment services for ethnic minority job seekers through a case management approach. In 2025, the programme provided employment support for 500 ethnic minorities and recorded 158 placements.

Job Seekers with Disabilities

5.20 The Selective Placement Division (SPD) offers employment assistance to job seekers with disabilities who are fit for open employment. Employment consultants provide personalised employment services, including employment counselling, job matching and referral as well as post-placement follow-up services. In 2025, the SPD registered 3 503 job seekers with disabilities and secured 2 339 placements (Appendix 5.3).

Work Orientation and Placement Scheme (WOPS)

5.21 The WOPS facilitates open employment of persons with disabilities by encouraging employers to engage persons with disabilities and render them with coaching and support through the provision of an allowance. The maximum allowance payable under WOPS to an eligible employer for engaging each person with disabilities having employment difficulties during the nine-month allowance period totalled $60,000. In 2025, the WOPS recorded 1 172 placements.

Self Help Integrated Placement Service (SHIPS)

5.22 The SHIPS aims at improving the job searching skills of job seekers with disabilities and encouraging them to be more proactive in job hunt, thereby enhancing their employment opportunities. In 2025, 360 job seekers with disabilities participated in the programme.

Interactive Selective Placement Service (iSPS) Website

5.23 The iSPS website (www.jobs.gov.hk/isps) provides employment services for job seekers with disabilities and employers. The website enables persons with disabilities to register with the SPD, browse job vacancy information and perform preliminary job matching. It also enables employers to place vacancy orders, identify suitable job seekers with disabilities to fill their vacancies and request the SPD to refer candidates to them for selection interview.

Promotional Activities

5.24 To enhance public understanding of the work abilities of persons with disabilities as well as to publicise the services of the SPD and the WOPS, the SPD conducted a series of promotional activities, such as staging exhibitions, producing publications and advertisements, broadcasting promotional videos, and publicising promotional messages through newspapers, television channels, publications of employers’ associations and wall banners during the year. In addition, the LD held a large-scale seminar for employers and human resources practitioners, paid promotional visits to employers of different trades and sent them publicity materials to canvass more job vacancies for persons with disabilities.

Services for Young People

Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme (GBA YES)

5.25 The GBA YES aims at encouraging enterprises with business in both Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) Mainland cities to employ Hong Kong young people in accordance with Hong Kong laws to work in the GBA Mainland cities, so as to foster their career development and the exchange of talents in GBA.

5.26 Starting from January 2025, the eligibility requirements are relaxed to allow young people aged 29 or below with sub-degree or higher qualifications to join GBA YES. The limit of monthly allowance granted to enterprises is increased to $12,000 or 60% of the monthly salaries of each employed young person for a period up to 18 months. The "Arrangements for Mainland Youth to Work in Hong Kong" (the Arrangements) has also been implemented. Enterprises which have participated in the scheme and employed Hong Kong young persons to work in the GBA Mainland cities may apply for the same number of Mainland young persons to work in Hong Kong according to relevant requirements under the Arrangements.

5.27 In 2025, the scheme recorded a total of 2 721 job vacancies and 607 placements.

Youth Employment and Training Programme (YETP)

5.28 To enhance the employability of young people, the LD administers the YETP, providing comprehensive training and employment support to young people with educational attainment at sub-degree level or below. Trainees can enrol on a year-round basis and are provided with 12 months' career development and employment support services rendered by registered social workers, and other services, including pre-employment training, workplace attachment training and on-the-job training (OJT). Since 2023, YETP trainees can also enrol in diversified pre-employment training courses offered by the Employees Retraining Board. Employers who engage trainees and provide them with OJT are entitled to a maximum OJT allowance of $5,000 per month per employee for six to 12 months.

5.29 Since January 2025, the LD has enhanced YETP by relaxing the enrolment age of young people under YETP from 15-24 to 15-29 and launched for the first time the “Greater Bay Area (GBA) Work Experience Attachment Programme” in June to allow YETP trainees aged 18 to 29 to undertake one-month workplace attachment in the Mainland cities of the GBA to understand the development opportunities of the GBA.

5.30 In the 2024/25 programme year running from September 2024 to August 2025, 997 OJT placements were secured under the YETP.

5.31 The LD organised the “Youth Employment Expo” in February to promote the YETP, the Youth Employment Start and the GBA YES. The LD also staged another large-scale recruitment activity named “Youth Recruitment Day” in June, offering more than 1 000 OJT vacancies for young job seekers. In the 2024/25 programme year, the LD organised 17 job fairs, involving employers in the hotel industry, retail, catering, aviation, property management, as well as public services, etc.

5.32 In addition, the LD organised the selection of YETP Most Improved Trainees 2025 to showcase the improvements of trainees after joining YETP and commended the caring efforts of service providers and employers. Trainees’ successful experience constituted the best encouragement to their peers. It was also a sterling testimony to the achievements of trainees, service providers, employers and the Government in nurturing the development of the young generation.

Youth Employment Start

5.33 The LD operates two youth employment resource centres named Youth Employment Start. The centres provide personalised advisory and support services on employment and self-employment to young people aged between 15 and 29 to help them map out their career path, enhance their employment opportunities and support them to start their own business. Services provided include career assessment, career guidance, professional counselling, value-adding training, self-employment support as well as up-to-date labour market information. In 2025, the number of services provided to young people by the two centres totalled 63 908.

Working Holiday Scheme (WHS)

5.34 Since 2001, Hong Kong has implemented WHS with 13 countries, namely Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom one after another. The scheme provides Hong Kong youths aged 18 to 30 with the opportunities to broaden their horizons by experiencing foreign culture through taking up short-term employment and enrolling in short-term courses (except for Ireland) while holidaymaking in those countries with a working holiday visa, usually for a continuous period of 12 months. At the same time, youths of those countries may also do the same in Hong Kong under the scheme.

5.35 The WHS has been well-received by young people. As at end-2025, more than 108 000 Hong Kong youths and some 18 000 youths from our partner countries participated in the scheme. The LD will continue to enhance the publicity of the scheme, and explore new partnership with other countries in order to provide more choices of WHS destinations.

Regulating Local Employment Agencies and Employment outside Hong Kong

5.36 The LD regulates EAs in Hong Kong through licensing, inspection, complaint investigation and prosecution. In 2025, we issued 4 051 EA licences and revoked or refused to issue/renew one licence. As at end-2025, there were 3 927 licensed EAs in Hong Kong. A total of 2 090 inspections were made by the LD officers to EAs in the year.

5.37 EAs must comply with the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies (the Code) promulgated by the LD to uphold professionalism and service quality. The dedicated Employment Agencies Portal (www.eaa.labour.gov.hk) provides EA operators and staff, job seekers, employers and other members of the public with updated information related to EA regulation. The portal also publishes records of conviction of offences for overcharging and unlicensed operation, revocation or refusal of renewal of licences, and written warnings issued for non-compliance with the Code, so as to assist members of the public in making informed decisions when engaging EA services. The enhanced transparency also helps foster adoption of good practices by the industry.

5.38 The LD also safeguards the interests of local employees employed by employers outside Hong Kong to work in other territories by attesting all employment contracts entered into Hong Kong involving manual employees and those non-manual employees with monthly wages not exceeding $20,000.

Regulating Labour Importation

Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS)

5.39 To alleviate the manpower shortage across different sectors, the LD launched the ESLS on 4 September 2023 to enhance the coverage and operation of the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS), including suspending the general exclusion of 26 job categories as well as unskilled or low-skilled posts from labour importation. On the premise of ensuring employment priority for local workers, employers with proven recruitment difficulties can apply for importation of workers at technician level or below under the ESLS. The Government has been monitoring closely the employment market. Having regard to the changes in the labour market of individual industries and posts, the Government adjusts the implementation arrangements of the ESLS in a flexible manner.

5.40 We provide active job matching and referral services for local job seekers, and widely publicise vacancies under the ESLS to ensure their employment priority. Applications from employers who have set restrictive and unreasonable job requirements or who have no sincerity in employing local workers will be rejected. The LD will also consider imposing administrative sanctions on the employers.

5.41 As at end-2025, there were 44 990 imported workers working in Hong Kong under the SLS/ESLS.

Policy on Foreign Domestic Helpers (FDHs)

5.42 FDHs have been admitted to work in Hong Kong since the 1970s. Apart from enjoying the same statutory rights and benefits as local employees, FDHs are further protected by a Government-prescribed Standard Employment Contract, which stipulates that employers must provide FDHs with free accommodation with reasonable privacy, free food (or food allowance in lieu), free passage to and from FDHs’ place of origin, free medical treatment, etc. FDHs also enjoy wage protection through the Government-prescribed Minimum Allowable Wage (MAW), under which employers have to pay FDHs a salary no less than the prevailing MAW when the contracts are signed. The Government attaches great importance to safeguarding FDHs’ statutory and contractual rights. The LD spares no efforts in investigating suspected offence cases and will take out prosecution if there is sufficient evidence.

5.43 To strengthen the protection of FDHs and enhance the awareness of both FDHs and employers of their rights and obligations, the LD continued to organise a host of publicity and educational activities, and continued to maintain close liaison with the governments of FDH-sending countries and their Consulates-General in Hong Kong, NGOs serving FDHs, FDH employer groups and EA associations to disseminate information on employment matters.

5.44 As at end-2025, there were 378 830 FDHs in Hong Kong, with 54% coming from the Philippines and 43% from Indonesia.