How to become a cleaning worker
Official title: Other cleaning workers
Also called: Carpet cleaner, Cooling tower cleaner, Graffiti cleaner, Swimming pool cleaner, Water blaster
This unit group includes cleaning workers not classified elsewhere. The group includes, for instance, those who clean surfaces, materials and objects such as carpets, walls, swimming pools and cooling towers, using specialized cleaning equipment and chemicals. In such instances tasks would include - (a) cleaning carpets and upholstered furniture using cleaning machines and their attachments; (b) selecting and applying cleaning agents to remove stains from carpets; (c) treating carpets with soil-repellent chemicals and deodorants, and treating for pests; (d) cleaning stone walls, metal surfaces and fascias using high-pressure water cleaners and solvents; (e) applying chemicals and high-pressure cleaning methods to remove micro-organisms from water and filtration systems; (f) using wet vacuums and other suction equipment to remove scale, accumulated dirt and other deposits from swimming pools, cooling tower components and drains.
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$14,400 a month
- About 337,600 people in 2025, and about 334,700 projected by 2028. (-0.8%)
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Will AI change the work of a cleaning worker?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (Annual Earnings and Hours Survey): Monthly and hourly wage percentiles by occupational group (5 groups) (Tables 220-23014, 220-23024, 220-23003) (2025 (May to June 2025), released 2026-03-23), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026