Trans-Union: Hong Kong household income remained stable in the fourth quarter, and credit is no longer considered a “necessity”

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the consumer survey for the fourth quarter of 2025 released by the Global Union shows that despite continued pressure on the job market, household income in Hong Kong has generally remained stable. Consumers are prudent and optimistic, actively manage their personal finances and show resilience. Furthermore, as the macroeconomic environment continues to change, consumers' views on credit have also changed. Credit is no longer viewed as a “necessity,” but rather a deliberate choice.

According to the survey, the Hong Kong job market continues to be under pressure, and the unemployment rate climbed to a three-year high at the end of the third quarter of this year. Among them, the youth unemployment rate reached 8%. However, the income of most households in Hong Kong remained stable in the fourth quarter of 2025. More than half of Hong Kong consumers said their revenue had remained constant over the past three months, up 3 percentage points from the same period last year. The number of respondents who indicated a decrease in income fell to 12% from 14% last year. The relevant data shows that most households in Hong Kong are in a stable financial position, and their income is generally flat rather than falling.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's overall economy remained stable, with GDP growth of 3% or more in the first three quarters of 2025. With continued economic growth coexisting with a slowing job market, consumers remain optimistic about the income outlook for 2026. Most respondents expect income to increase or remain stable over the next 12 months. Nearly half of them also expect income to rise, indicating that Hong Kong households are more resilient than market expectations in the face of uncertain economic prospects.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, stable income relieved many families from financial pressure. Only a few consumers expressed concern that they might not be able to fully pay at least one current bill or loan, a significant drop from 20% in the same period last year, and a new low for the past five quarters. The related improvements are consistent with a moderate rebound in consumer optimism. 54% of respondents were optimistic about next year's household financial prospects, a slight increase of 2 percentage points over the previous year. Although the increase was limited, it is clear that fewer consumers are affected by current financial pressures, while their confidence in future prospects is gradually picking up.

However, the cost of living remains a major source of pressure for consumers. More than 60% of respondents said that inflation in daily necessities is the primary concern affecting the financial situation of households in the next six months, followed by employment prospects. Notably, 42% of respondents said they were somewhat or very concerned about the impact of current or potential global trade tariffs on their household finances; another 48% believed that rising product prices were the main impact of tariffs.

Faced with these uncertainties, consumers adopted a pragmatic consumption strategy in the third quarter of 2025 and continued until the end of the year, showing a stronger sense of financial management and risk. Over the past three months, 38% and 20% of consumers have prioritized increases in emergency fund reserves and pension savings, respectively. Looking ahead to the upcoming holiday shopping season, only a quarter said they plan to increase non-essential expenses such as dining out, travel, and entertainment, while 41% plan to tighten related expenses. This prudent approach to financial management has enabled Hong Kong consumers to balance improvements in the macroeconomic environment with pressure on daily expenses, and maintain calm confidence in the future.

Sun Weihan, chief research and consulting consultant of the Asia-Pacific Union, said that even in the face of economic challenges such as rising unemployment, most Hong Kong consumers still say their income remains stable, and many families are optimistic about the future. At the same time, consumers have shown a pragmatic attitude, actively strengthened financial buffers, and prudently controlled short-term expenses to enhance personal financial resilience, so as to achieve a balance between improvements in the macroeconomic environment and pressure on daily expenses. In particular, with the holidays approaching, consumers are adopting a two-track strategy of increasing savings and prudent consumption to actively prepare for the coming year and deal with potential inflationary pressure.

The survey also found that in the fourth quarter of 2025, consumers' views on credit changed markedly. Fewer than half of respondents agree that credit and loan products are very or even extremely important to achieving their financial goals, down from 53% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The shift was particularly evident among Gen Z, where the proportion dropped sharply from 70% to 54%.

Meanwhile, in terms of confidence in obtaining the credit they need, only 61% of Gen Z are confident that their credit applications will be approved when needed, a sharp drop of 15 percentage points over the previous year. It can be seen from this that rising borrowing costs and the pressure on the employment environment may have caused changes in consumers' views on credit, especially among the younger generation.