According to the news, Hong Kong government decided to raise the minimum wage of Hong Kong employees from H.K. $28 to H.K. $30 per hour on May 1, 2013. The chat is showing the minimum wages around the world, which Australia has the highest minimum wage of U.S.$16.88 per hour and Hong Kong has a relative low minimum wage of only U.S. $3.87 per hour.

In my opinion, many Hong Kong citizens, especially the low-income employees are suffering from the inflation, it is hard for employees to survive with such a low minimum wage in Hong Kong. But there are both pros and cons for raising the minimum wage.

Pros

– Raising the minimum wage will help people live out of poverty and will also help them to improve their living qualities.

–       Raising the minimum wage will help the overall economy because as people are earning a higher income, they will be more willing to consume goods and services that are in higher price.

Cons

–       Raising the minimum wage might lead to unemployment which means less job opportunities due to a decrease in demand for labour.

–       Raising the minimum encourage teenagers to spend most of their time on part- part job instead of attending school.

Image taken from here