By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-18 10:29:38 | Updated at 2024-11-18 12:19:38
1 hour ago
Fewer civil servants quit their jobs over the past financial year, but the government will need to speed up hiring to offset the number of departures and workers retiring, a minister has said.
Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan told lawmakers on Monday the number of retiring government workers had also dropped and such jobs remained attractive in the labour market, even as vacancies remained.
“As retirement figures remain high, recruitment procedures will have to catch up,” Yeung said. “I admit that for hiring, there is room to conduct our procedures faster. We will work harder in this area.”
According to a government document, about 9,300 civil servants departed in 2023-24, including roughly 5,700 who retired and about 3,000 who resigned.
The resignation rate stood at 1.8 per cent, down from the 2.2 per cent recorded in 2022-23, which was the highest over the past eight financial years.
The document also showed about 173,000 civil servants were employed as of March this year, leaving roughly 19,000 jobs unfilled.
