Hong Kong physiotherapy market faces crisis as 60 candidates vie for single job

The job market for physiotherapists in Hong Kong has reached crisis levels, with 60 candidates competing for a single position at a remote care facility for the elderly as government budget cuts collide with a surge of newly qualified professionals.

Budget squeeze freezes hiring

The government announced recurrent public expenditure cuts of 1 to 2 per cent for 2025-26, extended through 2027-28, creating a hiring freeze across healthcare organisations. Alexander Woo Chuen-hau, president of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association, said job competition intensified from 2025 onward despite underlying demand for physiotherapists. "There is an underlying demand for physiotherapists, but there is simply no budget to hire them after healthcare cuts became more pronounced in 2026, forcing all organisations to tighten their belts," Woo told the South China Morning Post earlier this month.

Oversupply worsens as graduates flood market

The budget constraints have coincided with an unprecedented rise in new practitioners entering the market, including both fresh local undergraduates and practitioners returning from overseas. The professional group now expects a glut as the growing number of entrants face a stagnant job market.

Student commitment to profession drops

The oversupply signals have reached the admissions stage. At Polytechnic University's physiotherapy programme, the proportion of admitted applicants who ranked it among their top three choices—known as "Band A"—fell by around 9 percentage points from the previous year. This decline suggests PolyU is now selecting more students who are less committed to the profession.

Source: South China Morning Post