Once upon a time, University graduates were highly sought after by major companies. However, the situation has reversed dramatically since last year. According to the latest statistics, tertiary institutions recorded 30,798 job openings for graduates last year, a 55% drop from the previous year. With 75,000 tertiary graduates annually, this meant that 44,000 graduates were unemployed last year, or approximately 60% of graduates.
In the good old days, university graduates were considered God's favored one. Coupled with a favorable economic environment, 
university graduates enjoyed almost 100% employment. Back in the day of the eighties, university students embraced the "Four-Targets" philosophy: owning a car, a house, a wife/husband, and children. Today, the "Four-Targets" philosophy has turned into a "Zero-target" philosophy. Finding a job so difficult and even having no way to pay for their living expenses, university graduates have embraced a more relaxed lifestyle, not dating, not getting married, and certainly not buying a car, a house, or having children.
Years ago, a property expert criticized that university graduates who could not afford a house were simply incompetent. While landing a job was easy for university graduates back then, buying a home was still no easy feat. Furthermore, most university graduates at that time lacked family support, so they had to work hard for 8 to 10 years to save up enough for a down payment for a home. This year, the average monthly salary for university graduates is like last year's, around HK$20,000. Based on the statistics, one in two graduates is unemployed. As struggling to survive is not easy, buying a home has become a luxurious dream for graduates.
The latest survey showed that the unemployment rate among young people aged 20 to 24 was 12.3%. Today young people are the potential future force for home buying, but the current harsh job market will make them unaffordable to own a house. The number of entry-level positions suitable for university graduates has decreased significantly. Besides the deteriorating economy, the increasing prevalence of AI is accelerating the loss of general clerical positions.
Hong Kong residents heading north for consumption has already led to the wave of closure in the catering and retail sectors. The rise of AI is further accelerating the loss of jobs. The recent stabilization of the firsthand property is due to active buying from mainland buyers, while local buyers are still restrained. If the employment problem for university graduates is alleviated and upward mobility for young people is reopened, their dreams of owning properties will naturally be rekindled, leading to a healthier development of Hong Kong's property market.
