Why are more Hong Kong youth not in education, work or training than Asian peers?

A job market mismatch, shrinking demand for junior roles, and relatively comfortable family living conditions have driven up Hong Kong’s share of young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) compared to regional peers, observers have warned.

Their comments on Friday followed government figures released in response to lawmaker Elvin Lee Ka-kui, showing the city’s NEET rate at 6 per cent. A Legislative Council report last month put the 2025 figure slightly higher at 6.3 per cent – nearly double the overall unemployment rate.

“It’s not an individual issue. If more jobs are replaced because of a lack of competitiveness, it would further affect youth employment, which could have a knock-on effect on the upward mobility of society as a whole,” lawmaker Elvin Lee Ka-kui warned during a radio programme.

Data from the Census and Statistics Department showed that between 2023 and 2025, the number of NEETs aged 15 to 24 fluctuated between 33,700 to 36,100, accounting for 5.7 to 6 per cent of the population in that age group.

The figures were released on Wednesday in response to a question from Lee at a Legco meeting.

“A review of past data shows that even in years when the economy was booming and labour demand in the job market was high, the proportion of young people in Hong Kong classified as ‘NEETs’ mostly hovered between 6 per cent and 7 per cent,” Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said in his written reply.