{
  "id": 10809705,
  "title": "Hong Kong gov’t dismisses unemployment concerns among nurses, says non-local hires ‘very small’ in number",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/hong-kong-govt-dismisses-unemployment-concerns-among-nurses-says-non-10809705",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-29T23:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hong Kong Free Press",
    "slug": "hong-kong-free-press-hongkongfp",
    "url": "https://hongkongfp.com/2026/09/30/hong-kong-govt-dismisses-unemployment-concerns-among-nurses-says-non-local-hires-very-small-in-number/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hong Kong's government has addressed concerns about unemployment among local nurses, asserting that the number of non-local hires is \"very small\" and primarily composed of nurses participating in temporary exchange programs, not permanent employment. The statement came in response to complaints from a locally trained psychiatric nurse who claimed that many recent graduates struggled to find jobs, as the Hospital Authority preferred to hire nurses from mainland China. Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau dismissed these concerns, stating that there were no non-local psychiatric nurses in Hong Kong and that 99% of the 2,100 nurses who applied for jobs in public hospitals in 2025 were hired.\n\nMeanwhile, The Association of Hong Kong Nursing Staff expressed doubts about the government's figures and called for a slowdown in hiring non-local nurses, emphasizing the need to prioritize local recruitment. The government has been working to facilitate the employment of non-local nurses in Hong Kong's hospitals and residential care homes, with several measures introduced in recent years. These include an amendment to the Nurse Registration Ordinance in July 2024, allowing non-local nurses to practice without taking a licensing exam, and the introduction of three new pathways for admitting overseas nurses, such as \"special registration/enrolment,\" \"limited registration/enrolment,\" and \"temporary registration/enrolment.\"\n\nIn April, the health minister reported that from July 2024 to December 2025, the Hospital Authority received over 3,700 applications from non-local nurses for long-term service posts, issuing 101 offers, with 30 of those nurses being Hong Kong residents, primarily from China. Additionally, the Greater Bay Area Healthcare Talents Visiting Programmes, established in September 2022, allows doctors and nurses from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to work in Hong Kong public hospitals for 10 to 12 months, with a total of 450 GBA medics arriving in Hong Kong as of March 2025, of which 310 were nurses.",
  "summary": "Hong Kong authorities have defended its policies on hiring non-locally trained nurses, saying that they are “very small” in number following complaints about the import of non-local workers causing unemployment. The government said in a statement on Tuesday that Hong Kong’s public hospitals have always prioritised the hiring of locally trained professionals. It added that […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hong Kong Free Press",
        "title": "Hong Kong gov’t dismisses unemployment concerns among nurses, says non-local hires ‘very small’ in number",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/hong-kong-govt-dismisses-unemployment-concerns-among-nurses-says-non",
        "published": "2026-09-29T23:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}