The Chief Executive in Council has decided to increase the pay for Hong Kong’s civil servants by 2 percent across the board for 2026-27, with retrospective effect from April 1 this year, the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) announced on Tuesday.

The announcement came a week after the bureau made pay offers to the staff side of the four civil service central consultative councils, under which the pay for civil servants in the upper, middle and lower salary bands and the directorate will be increased at the same rate, of 2 percent.

The special administrative region government will submit the civil service pay adjustment proposal to the Legislative Council Finance Committee for consideration as soon as possible, the CSB said in a statement on Tuesday.

In arriving at this decision, the CE in Council has thoroughly considered the staff side's response to the pay offers and all relevant factors, including Hong Kong's economy, changes in the cost of living, the government's fiscal position, the net pay trend indicators, the pay claims of the staff side and civil service morale, the CSB added.

Pointing out that the Hong Kong economy has seen substantial growth over the past year alongside a modest rise in living expenses and an upward trend in private sector pay, a CSB spokesman said, “The CE in Council fully recognizes the commitment and devotion of the civil service as a whole in taking forward various new and major policy initiatives and measures despite increasing workloads and challenges.”

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The spokesman reminded that the SAR government needs to remain prudent in managing public finance to cater to future developments and unexpected needs arising from continuing uncertainty in geopolitical matters, which may affect people's general livelihood within a short period of time.

The 2 percent pay hike falls short of proposals from several public service unions, which had suggested increases of 3 to 4.12 percent.

An independent annual pay trend survey recommended net pay increases for the 2026-27 fiscal year of 4.12 percent for senior officials, 2.64 percent for midlevel officers, and 1.17 percent for the rank-and-file staff members. Figures were lower overall than those proposed in the last survey for 2024-25.

While speaking about the pay hike offer on June 9, Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan said the pay rise, costing around HK$6 billion ($765.6 million) in public funds, reflects a “reasonable adjustment.”

The raise serves as an affirmation of public servants’ work over the past year, she said, expressing her hope that it would lift morale as the current administration is seeking to build an active government that “carries out its duties diligently and confronts challenges head-on.”