The Chief Executive-in-Council (CE-in-Council) has decided to increase pay for civil servants in the upper, middle and lower salary bands, as well as the directorate, at 2% across the board for 2026-27, with retrospective effect from April 1, the Civil Service Bureau announced today. 

In arriving at its decision, the CE-in-Council considered the response of the staff side of the four civil service central consultative councils to its initial offer, and various factors under the established civil service pay adjustment mechanism.

These factors include the state of Hong Kong's economy, changes in the cost of living, the Government's fiscal position, net pay trend indicators derived from the Pay Trend Survey, the staff side's pay claims, and civil service morale.

The bureau said that, over the past year, the Hong Kong economy has seen substantial growth, alongside a modest rise in living expenses and an upward trend in private sector pay.

It added that the CE-in-Council fully recognises 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.

Nevertheless, the bureau stressed that the Government needs to remain prudent in managing the public finances in order to secure future development and respond to continuing uncertainty in geopolitical matters, which may affect livelihoods within a short period of time.

The CE-in-Council's decision balances all relevant factors, the bureau said.   

The Government will submit the 2026-27 civil service pay adjustment proposal to the Legislative Council Finance Committee for consideration as soon as possible.