Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong
Hong Kong: Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) was 11.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong, 1979–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Hong Kong recorded 11.5% for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in 2025.
The figure is up 11.2% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong peaked at 18.1% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 1989.
Hong Kong ranks 89th of 157 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 7.6% | — |
| 1980 | 7.8% | +3.0% |
| 1981 | 4.8% | -38.3% |
| 1982 | 6.9% | +43.3% |
| 1983 | 7.8% | +12.0% |
| 1984 | 7.3% | -6.4% |
| 1985 | 6.6% | -9.8% |
| 1986 | 6.0% | -8.0% |
| 1987 | 3.8% | -37.2% |
| 1988 | 3.7% | -3.2% |
| 1989 | 3.1% | -14.6% |
| 1990 | 3.6% | +14.3% |
| 1991 | 4.7% | +32.0% |
| 1992 | 4.8% | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 4.9% | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 5.1% | +4.3% |
| 1995 | 7.8% | +52.9% |
| 1996 | 7.7% | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 5.8% | -24.5% |
| 1998 | 12.1% | +108.7% |
| 2000 | 11.9% | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 13.4% | +13.1% |
| 2002 | 18.1% | +34.5% |
| 2003 | 18.1% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 15.1% | -17.1% |
| 2005 | 13.8% | -8.6% |
| 2006 | 12.9% | -6.1% |
| 2007 | 11.0% | -14.7% |
| 2008 | 10.4% | -5.7% |
| 2009 | 15.2% | +46.0% |
| 2010 | 14.1% | -7.1% |
| 2011 | 10.9% | -22.2% |
| 2012 | 10.9% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 11.3% | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 10.4% | -8.0% |
| 2015 | 11.4% | +9.4% |
| 2016 | 11.0% | -3.5% |
| 2017 | 9.2% | -16.4% |
| 2018 | 10.0% | +8.6% |
| 2019 | 10.6% | +6.2% |
| 2020 | 17.5% | +64.7% |
| 2021 | 15.2% | -12.8% |
| 2022 | 12.0% | -21.3% |
| 2023 | 9.5% | -20.3% |
| 2024 | 10.4% | +8.5% |
| 2025 | 11.5% | +11.2% |
Hong Kong compared with similar countries
- Hong Kong's 11.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 14.2%, 81% of the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Hong Kong's 11.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8.3%, 1.4× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +108.7% | 5.8% | 12.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.6% | 7.6% | 7.6% | 1 |
| 1980s | 5.8% | 3.1% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.2% | 3.6% | 12.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 14.0% | 10.4% | 18.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.0% | 9.2% | 14.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.7% | 9.5% | 17.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Hong Kong
More work & labour data for Hong Kong
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 2,981 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 55.13 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 3,663 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.78 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.06 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 149,185 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 100,833 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 53.6 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.56 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -1.12 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong?
- Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong was 11.5% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Hong Kong?
- The highest recorded value was 18.1% in 2003.
- What is the lowest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Hong Kong?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 1989.
- How does Hong Kong rank for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24)?
- Hong Kong ranks 89th out of 157 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) rising or falling in Hong Kong?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Hong Kong data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.