Income inequality in Hong Kong has increased at an alarming rate over the last five and a half years, according to a report published by Oxfam.
Compiled using government statistics between 2011 and 2015, the report found that the top 10 percent of the highest earning households made an average of HKD100,000 per month. Meanwhile, the lowest 10 percent earned a monthly household income of HKD3,500 per month.
That means residents in the lowest-earning households have to work around 29 months just to make the same as what most well-off folks earn in a month, according to Apple Daily.
The report also highlights other worrisome statistics. There are over 1.15 million people living in poverty, with one in three over the age of 65 living below the poverty line.
In households consisting of members who are employed, 55.5 percent of them make less than what the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) offers.
Oxfam said it will urge the government to review minimum wage annually, in order to ensure it falls in line with inflation and also sits above what the CSSA offers.
