Hong Kong minimum wage set to increase to HK$43.10 in May

2026-02-10 - 23:37

Hong Kong’s minimum hourly wage is set to rise by HK$1 in May, subject to the approval of the city’s legislature. Street cleaners take a rest. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Following an annual review, the chief executive and the government’s top policy-making body, the Executive Council (ExCo), accepted the Minimum Wage Commission’s (MWC) recommendation to raise the statutory minimum wage from HK$42.10 to HK$43.10. Labour minister Chris Sun said on Tuesday that the commission’s recommendation was in line with the policy objective of protecting workers from excessively low pay and preserving jobs while making sure the city remains economically competitive. The new minimum wage will be gazetted on February 20, then tabled in the Legislative Council (LegCo) on February 25. If approved, it will take effect on May 1. Living wage The 2.38 per cent increase took into account inflation and the city’s economic growth, the MWC said. However, the new minimum wage still falls short of what some NGOs consider to be a living wage for working-class Hongkongers. Oxfam Hong Kong’s living wage standard in 2025 was set at HK$62.80. The last minimum wage rise was 5.3 per cent in 2025, up from HK$40 to the current HK$42.10. Commission chair Priscilla Wong said in a Tuesday statement that the MWC was “delighted” to learn that the chief executive and the ExCo had accepted the recommendation. “The MWC believes that the new [minimum wage] rate can maintain an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs, while giving due regard to sustaining Hong Kong’s economic growth and competitiveness,” the statement read. “We earnestly hope that the new... rate will be accepted by the Legislative Council,” Wong said.