A Paradigm Shift Towards a Green and Sustainable Finance Center

Hong Kong in Transition: A Paradigm Shift Towards a Green and Sustainable Finance Center 13 Figure 4: Employed Persons by Industry/ Occupation and Employment Rate (Source: Based on data from the Census and Statics Department of Hong Kong) 2.2 The Mixed Business Outlook Surveys conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong capture some of the key changes in business sentiment over the past few years. The findings present a mixed business outlook. The groups holding very optimistic and optimistic perceptions toward Hong Kong’s business future are shrinking (Figure 5). In 2021, 58% of the respondents were either very optimistic or optimistic about Hong Kong’s business outlook. By 2024, the number had dropped to 35%. While the group of those saying they were very pessimistic did not enlarge, the pessimistic group did grow by 8%, from 16% in 2021 to 24% in 2024. Strikingly, the middle group, who hold a neutral view, almost doubled, from only 23% in 2021 to 40% in 2024. Clearly, increasing numbers of businesspeople find the future of Hong Kong’s economy difficult to anticipate. Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2017 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2018 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2019 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2021 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2022 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2023 700 650 600 550 500 450 400 350 300 Thousand persons 8.0% 7.0% 6.0% 5.0% 4.0% 3.0% 2.0% 1.0% 0.0% Retail, accommodation and food services employment Transportation, storage, postal and courier services, information and communications employment Import/ export trade and wholesale employment Unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) (right axis)