Research and Studies

Feature Articles and Working Papers

Topical researches and analyses on economic matters related to Hong Kong

16 May 2025

• Business sentiment in Hong Kong (PDF) (Word)
• Financial conditions of selected Asian economies (PDF) (Word)
• Latest performance of the tourism sector in Hong Kong (PDF) (Word)

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Economic Letters

Articles on various economic topics, written by economists from the Office of the Government Economist

13 August 2024

• An overview of the change in Hong Kong's labour force (PDF) (Word)
  Eric Cheung
  After having shown a general uptrend for years, Hong Kong's labour force reached a peak in 2018 and then declined in the following several years, before showing some bounce-back in 2023. This article examines the contributory factors behind these changes. In gist, the working-age population generally increased in the past three decades or so except the pandemic period, but the change in age structure has been a persistent drag on the overall labour force participation rate amid the secular population ageing trend. Looking ahead, population ageing will continue to put downward pressure on the labour supply in the long term. In view of this, the HKSAR Government has implemented various measures to help boost labour supply.

9 October 2023

• The natural rate of unemployment in Hong Kong: An update (PDF) (Word)
  Kelvin Wong
  This article provides an update on Hong Kong’s natural rate of unemployment, as measured by the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU), with data up to 2022. The estimation is based on a structural regression model that allows interactions between price inflation, wage growth and unemployment rate. The results indicate that the NAIRU for Hong Kong remained broadly stable from 1994 to 2010, averaging 3.7% over that period before rising to 4.4% in 2012, then gradually falling to 2.8% in 2018 and hovering around 3.0% in the ensuing years.

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Major Supportive Works

Analysis and research support to the works of various Government committees / working groups / task forces provided by the Office of the Government Economist

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