Employment prospects look grim in Hong Kong with more than half of the respondents to a recent survey saying, “We expect to freeze wages this year. We are afraid to increase spending”.

The survey conducted online in Nov-Dec last year through computer random sampling, telephone interviews with  people, who are working or looking for employment.

The results showed that with the easing of the epidemic and customs clearance with the mainland, the surveyed professionals were less worried about salary cuts and company closures, and 46% of respondents expressed concern about salary cuts, layoffs or company closures, down 54.9 percentage points from 8.9% in the previous survey, and 54% of respondents said they were not worried, up 8 percentage points, says a report in Zaobao, a Singapore based Chinese website .

The report also added that the respondents did not dare to have high hopes for the salary survey, with 52% expecting a freeze on wages this year, 20% expecting a pay cut, and only 28% expecting a raise.

As for whether the government’s relaxation of anti-epidemic measures can enhance their confidence in employment and increase consumption, 54% of the respondents said that it had no impact on employment confidence, and 61% said they were afraid to increase consumption.