The food and beverage services industry imported the most foreign workers under the scheme
More than 37,000 foreign workers have been recruited to work in Hong Kong since September 2023 to fill job vacancies in the financial hub's food and beverage, as well as accommodation services, industries.
Labour Secretary Chris Sun said the workers were imported under the government's Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS), which was implemented in September 2023.
The food and beverage services industry imported a total of 35,589 workers from overseas, while the accommodation services industry imported 2,102 workers since the ESLS was launched, according to the secretary.
But as of August 2025, there are 16,622 and 547 imported workers in the food and beverage, as well as accommodation services industries, respectively, who are under the ESLS.
"The LD does not maintain a breakdown of the number of imported workers working in the food and beverage services industry, and the accommodation services industry in Hong Kong by job title," Sun said in his reply to a question in the Legislative Council.
Hong Kong's ESLS
The ESLS was implemented by the government in 2023 to supplement the financial hub's local labour force.
According to Sun, various measures are in place to ensure that imported workers are not replacing Hong Kong's local labour force, such as salary policies, Standard Employment Contracts (SEC), online forms for complaints, and government inspections in workplaces.
"Imported workers shall only work in the positions and carry out job duties as specified in SEC, and at the designated workplace(s). Change in positions or job duties is not allowed," Sun said.
"If an employer has violated relevant requirements, the LD (Labour Department) will impose administrative sanction on the employer, including withdrawal of approvals for importation of labour previously granted to the employer and refusal to process applications submitted in the following two years."
Seven employers from the two industries have so far been sanctioned in 2024 and 2025 for violations of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, the Immigration Ordinance, or the requirements of the ESLS, according to Sun.
They were fined between HK$1,600 and HK$24,000. Their approvals for importation were also withdrawn, and they have been barred from importing foreign workers for up to two years.
The inquiry to Sun comes as Hong Kong's unemployment rate rose to 3.9% during the July to September period.
"The continued expansion of the Hong Kong economy is expected to support job growth. However, the employment situation in some sectors would continue to face challenges during economic restructuring," Sun said in a previous statement.
"The increasing external uncertainties could also weigh on corporate hiring sentiment. The Government will continue to closely monitor the labour market situation and facilitate job-seeking through enhancing dissemination of employment information."
