With a promising outlook for ICT professionals in 2025, over half (54.88%) of surveyed companies are planning to raise their salaries, according to the Hong Kong Computer Society (HKCS)’s Hong Kong ICT Industry Employment and Salary Trend Survey.
Approximately 26.92% of the respondents are expected to have an average growth rate of 4% or more. In 2024, 69.51% of ICT professionals received a pay rise, while 30.3% of the companies offered a raise at 4% or above, outperforming the inflation rate of 1.1% stated in Budget 2025.
The survey found that 82.93% of respondents did not lay off ICT staff, but 46.34% confirmed an increase in headcount.
There are significant growth opportunities for ICT graduates, as half (50%) of the respondents hired fresh ICT graduates in 2024. 68% of them offered a starting monthly salary of over HK$18,000, while more than 30% provided a salary higher than HK$22,000 per month. 28.57% of the companies provided a raise at over 4%, indicating a promising future for ICT graduates.
Talent shortage
Dr. Rocky Cheng, president of the Hong Kong Computer Society, emphasised the urgent need to address the significant talent shortage in the ICT industry.
“While nearly 70% of companies increased ICT personnel salaries in 2024, this year, the figure is expected to be 54.88%. Notably, many companies plan salary adjustments that will outpace inflation, demonstrating that over half of ICT professionals can still anticipate real wage growth,” he said.
HKCS initiated a questionnaire survey among corporate members in the first quarter of this year and collected 83 responses, including those from large public and private organisations.
