let's go! 2022｜113,000 people immigrated to Hong Kong, the government admits the loss of 140,000 labor force

Scenes of reluctance in the departure hall of the airport, deep hugs, waving and tearful goodbyes between relatives and friends have become daily routines in Hong Kong in recent years.

As 2022 draws to a close, the "immigration wave" is still a lingering topic for Hong Kong people. Statistics from the Census and Statistics Department show that the number of net migrants from mid-2021 to the middle of this year reached 113,000, the highest since records began in 1997; A supporting data, the number of applications for the "Certificate of No Criminal Record", commonly known as the "Certificate of Good Citizenship", also reached 14,700 last year, a 22-year high.

Due to the shortage of talents in all walks of life, the first "Policy Address" of the current government finally admitted that there was a loss of about 140,000 floating population in the past two years, and launched a series of "grabbing talents" policies.

According to the analysis of immigration experts, the wave of immigration in Hong Kong still exists. It is expected that many Hong Kong people will immigrate before the second half of this year because many countries plan to tighten immigration conditions. Looking forward to next year, the number of immigrants will stabilize or drop slightly.

▼On August 16, the airport reproduced the scene of sending off immigrant relatives and friends▼

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The question "Will you immigrate?" is still a topic that people often discuss after dinner in 2022. Looking back at the figures released this year, the Census and Statistics Department disclosed that the number of net migration in Hong Kong, that is, the number of Hong Kong residents moving in minus the number of people going out, has been recorded since the end of 2019 The negative number, from mid-2021 to the mid-year of this year, the number will expand the most, recording 113,000 passengers, a new high since the record was kept in 1997.

Although the official government emphasizes that the figure of 113,000 covers the flow of people entering and leaving Hong Kong for various purposes such as work, study and immigration, and there is no breakdown of the figures, according to another supporting figure, namely, the Security Bureau's "Estimated Figures of Hong Kong Residents Emigrating to Other Places" Last year, about 147 million people applied for a "good citizen certificate" for immigration purposes, a sharp increase of 40% compared with 2020, setting a new high in 22 years.

The government estimated that 15,000 people immigrated last year, a 22-year high. Immigration consultant: It is expected that the peak period has not yet passed. The latest population of Hong Kong is 7.29 million, a decrease of 1.6% compared with the same period last year.

Li Jiachao's "Policy Address" disclosed an estimated loss of 140,000 labor force

Although the authorities have never acknowledged the existence of the "immigration wave", population loss has affected the structure of the labor force, resulting in manpower shortages in various industries, especially the information technology industry.

Chief Executive Lee Kar-chao published his first "Policy Address" in October this year, disclosing government estimates for the first time through official channels that Hong Kong lost about 140,000 laborers in the past two years.

According to government sources, the estimated loss of 140,000 labor force is based on the comparison between the labor force in the second quarter of this year and the figure in 2020. Among them, about 78,000 people belong to the age group of 25 to 39; 58,000 people belong to the age group of 40 to 59 ; About 60% or about 88,000 people are high-skilled persons, including university graduates and management personnel.

▼April 19, the scene of seeing off immigrant relatives and friends at the airport▼

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The Statistics Department estimates that the education industry owes nearly 8,000 people

The employment and vacancy statistics report of the Census and Statistics Department for September this year also shows that there are a large number of vacancies in various vacancies, including 4,995 vacancies in the retail industry, 3,532 vacancies in the air transport industry, 4,468 vacancies in the financial services (except insurance and pension funds), and 4,468 vacancies in the education industry. The vacancies are as high as 7,905.

Faced with the brain drain, the policy address for the first time spent a lot of space to introduce a series of policies to "grab talents and companies" including "talent service window" and launch "high-end talent pass plan" to provide employees with an annual salary of 2.5 million yuan or more in the past year. Those above, or those who graduated from the top 100 universities in the world and accumulated three or more years of work experience in the past five years, or those who graduated from the top 100 universities in the past five years but did not meet the work experience requirements, will be issued a pass for a period of two years.

Various talent-grabbing measures aim to import at least 35,000 talents who stay for more than 12 months between 2023 and 2025.

Policy Address｜Hong Kong Lost 140,000 Labor Population Sun Yuhan said 78,000 were young people aged 25 to 39 Policy Address｜Two Years Lost 140,000 Labor Population "Gao Cai Tong" can play and not work in the first two years

▼The policy report proposes to "grab talents and companies"▼

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Zhang Jiaxi, director of Huankai Immigration Consulting Co., Ltd., said that various government figures also reflect that the immigration wave is continuing, and the number of inquiries and commissions this year is still high.

However, he said that the British government has also noticed the pressure caused by the rapid increase in the number of immigrants. There was news last month that it was considering tightening relevant policies, such as restrictions on studying abroad; Canada, which launched the "Lifeboat Plan", had a more aggressive immigration policy in the past. Permit (OWP) will also close in February next year for applications.

Zhang said that various situations may indicate that countries may tighten immigration restrictions one after another, so many Hong Kong people rush to decide to emigrate within this year, or pile up to deal with it this year, so the number may increase.

He predicted that with the policy changes, the number of Hong Kong immigrants next year should return to a stable level, or drop slightly.

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