Hong Kong physiotherapy graduates face severe job crunch amid budget cuts

Hong Kong physiotherapy graduates are facing a job crunch amid ongoing healthcare budget cuts and a surge in new practitioners entering the industry, with one representative saying 60 applicants had competed for one position in a remote care facility for elderly residents.

Data also showed that the proportion of applicants admitted to Polytechnic University’s (PolyU) prestigious physiotherapy programme who ranked it among their top three choices – known as “Band A” – fell by around 9 percentage points from last year, suggesting the institution was selecting more students who were less committed to the profession.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post earlier this month, Alexander Woo Chuen-hau, president of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association, said that job competition in the industry had intensified since 2025.

“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 said.

He was referring to the government’s announcement last year of recurrent public expenditure cuts of 1 to 2 per cent for 2025-26, which would be extended to 2027-28.

These budgetary constraints coincide with an unprecedented rise in the number of new practitioners entering the market.