Hong Kong minimum wage
The Statutory Minimum Wage, an HOURLY floor applying to most employees under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608). From 2024 the SMW moved from a biennial to an ANNUAL review, with the rate set each year by a published formula recommended by the Minimum Wage Commission and given effect by resolution/notice.
| Current value | 43.1 HKD per hour |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-05-01 |
| Official source | Labour Department — 'Statutory Minimum Wage': the SMW rate increased from $42.1 to $43.1 per hour with effect from 1 May 2026 (Minimum Wage Ordinance Cap. 608; first rate set under the new annual-review formula, recommended by the Minimum Wage Commission on 2 Feb 2026) |
| Last verified | 2026-07-23 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
SMW is a single territory-wide HOURLY rate (no regional or sectoral variation). Raised to HK$43.1/hour from 1 May 2026, up HK$1.0 (2.44%) from HK$42.1. This is the FIRST rate under the new ANNUAL review mechanism (the review cycle changed from once every two years to yearly, effective from the 2026 round). The formula (adopted by the Government on the Minimum Wage Commission's recommendation): SMW adjustment = year-on-year CPI(A) inflation (subject to a floor of zero, so the rate can never fall) PLUS an economic-growth component equal to 20% of the gap between the latest real GDP growth and its preceding 10-year trend, that component capped at +1 percentage point. Applying 2025 data the Commission computed a 2.36% uplift, rounded to give HK$43.1. The Commission made its recommendation on 2 Feb 2026; the rate took effect 1 May 2026. Related change on the same date: the monthly monetary cap above which employers need not keep total-hours-worked records rose from HK$17,200 to HK$17,600. SMW does NOT apply to live-in domestic workers, student interns/work-experience students within the Ordinance's definitions, or persons outside the Employment Ordinance. Minimum Wage Commission (formula and 2026 report): https://www.mwc.org.hk/en/. Next review: annual — expect a recommendation in early 2027 for a 1 May 2027 effective date.
Get it programmatically
curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/hk/minimum-wage
# $0.001 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/hk/minimum-wage/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://asiaref.dev/provenance/hk/minimum-wageOther Hong Kong series: policy interest rate · VAT rate · public holidays · inflation rate (CPI) · corporate tax rate · income tax rates