{
  "id": 16133753,
  "title": "Fresh Hong Kong graduates feel AI impact as degree pay advantage narrows",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/fresh-hong-kong-graduates-feel-ai-impact-as-degree-pay-advantage-16133753",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-23T00:30:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3371826/fresh-hong-kong-graduates-feel-ai-impact-degree-pay-advantage-narrows"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hong Kong graduates entering the workforce are experiencing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) as the salary gap between degree and sub-degree holders narrows, according to a survey by Baptist University. The starting salaries for bachelor’s degree graduates and sub-degree graduates have come closer, with the disparity shrinking by 17% or HK$500 (US$63.70) from last year to this year. This decrease is attributed, in part, to AI technology enabling companies to handle tasks previously requiring higher degrees without the need for higher pay.\n\nHuman resources experts urge the government to adjust education strategies and encourage students not to see AI as a threat. Alexa Chow Yee-ping, managing director of ACTS Consulting, suggests that AI may be contributing to the narrowing salary gap between degree levels. The survey covered over 270,000 employees across 78 companies in Hong Kong, 38 in Macau, and 105 in nine Guangdong province cities, collectively forming the Greater Bay Area.\n\nDespite a lower average pay rise of 2.3% this year compared to 2.5% in 2025, Hong Kong workers saw no significant increase in starting salaries for university graduates. Chow notes that this trend varies by sector, with professional fields like healthcare and technology maintaining higher thresholds. She advises students to consider their interests and the practicality of the jobs they pursue, evaluating the likelihood of these roles being performed by AI.\n\nLabour sector lawmaker Lam Chun-sing, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, calls for the government to enhance its education policies, particularly in scaling up universities of applied sciences to train students for AI-related industries and emerging sectors. This shift aims to bridge the human resources gap in the Northern Metropolis, a project launched in 2021 to stimulate economic growth and housing development.\n\nAnother survey by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, released in September, revealed that local employees received an average pay rise of 2.8% this year, translating to a 1.1% real increase after accounting for inflation. This is the lowest pay growth since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the institute's president, Ian Choy Jing-man. Choy stresses that fresh graduates, often starting at general or supporting staff levels, will be most affected by slower pay growth. He recommends that young people view AI as a tool rather than a competitor and emphasizes the importance of acquiring AI skills to remain competitive in the job market.",
  "summary": "Fresh Hong Kong graduates are increasingly feeling the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) as they enter the workforce, human resources experts have said, after a survey found the starting salaries for degree holders and sub-degree graduates had narrowed. The results of the latest annual survey by Baptist University found the disparity between the starting salaries of bachelor’s degree and…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}