Hong Kong to face labour shortage by 2018 

(MENAFN - Saudi Press Agency) A growing elderly population and low birth rate
are threatening to leave Hong Kong with a labour shortage by as early
as 2018, dpa quoted a government study as publishing Friday.

The manpower study predicts the city will be short of 14,000
workers within six years as baby boomers continue to retire leaving
jobs unfilled.

It is the first time the on-going study, which began in 1988, has
predicted a labour shortage in the city of 7.1 million.

The demand for workers with a middle level of education will be
strongest, it said, with a shortage of 22,000 workers, compared to a
shortfall of 500 for those with degrees.

However, there would be a predicted surplus of 8,500 workers at
the lowest education level, the report said.

The government has pledged to take action to attract more talented
workers by streamlining visa processes and encouraging overseas
students studying in the city to stay on after graduation.

There is no statutory retirement age in Hong Kong, but around
300,000 people are expected to retire between now and 2018, as baby
boomers, defined as people born in the period after 1945, turn 65.

Employers are set to find it hard to fill the jobs they leave
behind. The shortage of young workers is due to the city's low birth
rate, currently around 1.04 children for every woman, far below the
replacement rate of 2.1 children.