Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong
Hong Kong: Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) was 11.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong, 1979–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong stood at 11.2%.
The figure is up 18.6% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong peaked at 15.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 1989.
Hong Kong ranks 99th of 160 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 total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 6.5% | — |
| 1980 | 7.1% | +9.6% |
| 1981 | 4.3% | -38.7% |
| 1982 | 6.0% | +37.5% |
| 1983 | 6.8% | +13.4% |
| 1984 | 6.6% | -2.2% |
| 1985 | 6.0% | -10.1% |
| 1986 | 5.7% | -3.7% |
| 1987 | 3.9% | -32.8% |
| 1988 | 3.4% | -12.1% |
| 1989 | 2.8% | -18.4% |
| 1990 | 3.4% | +24.0% |
| 1991 | 4.2% | +22.6% |
| 1992 | 4.3% | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 4.5% | +3.7% |
| 1994 | 4.3% | -3.3% |
| 1995 | 6.9% | +58.3% |
| 1996 | 6.7% | -3.2% |
| 1997 | 5.2% | -21.7% |
| 1998 | 10.5% | +102.3% |
| 2000 | 11.2% | +6.2% |
| 2001 | 11.3% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 14.9% | +32.7% |
| 2003 | 15.0% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 12.1% | -18.9% |
| 2005 | 10.7% | -11.7% |
| 2006 | 10.4% | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 9.0% | -13.6% |
| 2008 | 8.5% | -5.0% |
| 2009 | 12.6% | +47.0% |
| 2010 | 12.2% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 9.3% | -23.5% |
| 2012 | 9.3% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 9.5% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 9.2% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 10.5% | +13.4% |
| 2016 | 9.8% | -6.9% |
| 2017 | 8.6% | -12.3% |
| 2018 | 8.8% | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 8.5% | -2.4% |
| 2020 | 15.6% | +82.1% |
| 2021 | 12.8% | -17.6% |
| 2022 | 11.0% | -13.8% |
| 2023 | 8.9% | -19.2% |
| 2024 | 9.5% | +5.9% |
| 2025 | 11.2% | +18.6% |
Hong Kong compared with similar countries
- Hong Kong's 11.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 13.9%, 80% of the median. (70 countries reporting)
- Hong Kong's 11.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8.0%, 1.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment, youth total (% of total 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 | +102.3% | 5.2% | 10.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.5% | 6.5% | 6.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 5.2% | 2.8% | 7.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.6% | 3.4% | 10.5% | 9 |
| 2000s | 11.6% | 8.5% | 15.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.6% | 8.5% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.5% | 8.9% | 15.6% | 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 total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong?
- Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) in Hong Kong was 11.2% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Hong Kong?
- The highest recorded value was 15.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Hong Kong?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 1989.
- How does Hong Kong rank for unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24)?
- Hong Kong ranks 99th out of 160 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) rising or falling in Hong Kong?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. 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 total (% of total 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.