Catering employers applied to bring in 18,569 workers through 2,795 applications in the first nine months of 2026, according to figures in a written reply from the Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
From 16 June, applications for imported workers in food-production and floor-service jobs came under stricter screening. Employers had to maintain three local full-time staff for every imported worker and recruit locally for six weeks, attending an in-person job fair every two weeks during that period.
Between 16 June and the end of September, 93 applications failed the staffing-ratio requirement at initial screening. Over the same period, 219 catering employers took part in recruitment fairs, offering 1,276 vacancies and conducting 137 in-person interviews.
Of the 18 interview outcomes confirmed so far, one candidate was hired, 10 were not hired because they did not meet requirements, and seven declined employment. Other outcomes were still being confirmed.