Youth unemployment in Hong Kong is a serious problem that cannot be totally resolved.

Although the government has made efforts over the years to improve the situation, the problem remains due to decreasing number of jobs and the increasing number of school leavers every year, said Chung Kim-wah, assistant professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Department of Applied Social Sciences.

Young people in Hong Kong are generally referred to as the 15-19 and 20-24 age groups, he said.

"With only secondary education, the employability of the 15-19 year olds in today's job market is comparatively weak. And as employers have more choices from abundant supply of university graduates, young people with only secondary education are left in a very unfavorable position," he commented.

"Facing strong competition from other young people with higher education, the 15-19 age group can only settle for less favorable jobs that require them to work rather long hours for little pay."

Competition among the 20-24 age group is equally keen because of the abundant supply of graduates, he observed. Besides graduates from the eight universities, there are also graduates from post-secondary institutions, associate degree holders, as well as diploma and higher diploma holders.

The huge increase in the supply of graduates was a result of the government policy that 60 percent of young people at appropriate age should receive tertiary education, he said.

"The over-supply of graduates has generated very keen competition for jobs, mounting pressure on the graduates who have no working experience," he said. "Seeing supply exceed demand, some employers offered lower wages to hire the graduates and therefore dragged down the salaries of university graduates and associate degree holders in recent years."

In analyzing the difficulties facing graduates, Chung said the pace of job creation in Hong Kong could not catch up with the growth in working population.

"Hong Kong's economy is well-developed yet it is close to saturation and has therefore little room for further economic growth and job creation," he said.

The government has introduced a number of youth employment projects in recent years, but they are only short-term projects. "When the projects are over, the young people will need to compete for low-paid jobs with their peers," he said.

Chung advises graduates to adjust their mindset in light of the growing number of young people entering the labor market after their studies. "Twenty years ago, university graduates were crown princes but now they need to work very hard and gain more experience," he said.

He also said that youth unemployment was a universal problem faced by many foreign countries. A few years ago, France enacted a law to provide incentives for employers to recruit fresh graduates.

He also quoted a UK study last year that showed the age of first-time home buyers was getting higher because of graduate's low income. Since young people needed more time to find jobs, settle down and repay the student loans after graduation, they could not afford to buy their own property and this, in effect, might affect the property market.

(HK Edition 06/26/2009 page4)