Cities lose out as workers choose to work at home
By Wang Qingchu |
February 12, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AREAS of China which used to export a large number of migrant workers are now competing with coastal cities for labor.
More factories are being relocated in the interior and the wage gap compared to the cities is narrowing.
Employment authorities in Shaoxing City in east China's Zhejiang Province contacted their counterparts in Chongqing Municipality and Sichuan Province, the traditional source of labor, at the end of last year in a bid to secure workers after the Chinese New Year. However, their request for help was turned down, with the regions instead encouraging those working in coastal cities to come back to support industrial development in their hometowns, Eastday.com reported yesterday.
A jobs fair in Shaoxing earlier this week offered around 8,000 vacancies at more than 1,200 companies. However, only 131 people were employed at the fair, compared to around 300 in previous years.
In Chongqing, an official with the Fuling District Employment Bureau said: "We are running low on labor. How can we export more labor?"
The district employment bureau signed an agreement with its Shaoxing counterpart five years ago, promising to organize 3,000 people to work in Shaoxing every year.
However, demand from local factories started to pick up from 2009. Most came from manufacturers who had relocated from eastern regions. A survey found Fuling District faced a labor shortage of 10,000 people at the beginning of this year.
"Chongqing is not an isolated case. The same situation happens in other areas," said Chen Shida, head of a human resources research institute in Zhejiang.
Average monthly salaries in China's eastern region in 2009 were 1,455 yuan (US$221), compared to 1,389 yuan and 1,382 yuan in central and western regions, according to the National Statistics Bureau.
The monthly salary for workers in manufacturing in Fuling ranged from 1,200 yuan to 2,500 yuan on average last year, according to the local gvoernment.
The high cost of living in big cities is a deterrent for many migrant workers.
"My salary was only raised by 200 yuan in the past three years. It's really hard to save money," said 44-year-old Zhu Xianghai, a Sichuan native who worked in Shaoxing.
Zhu plans to stay in his hometown this year.
An annual acute labor shortage is being seen along China's coast and hinterland after the Spring Festival break, with many migrant workers not returning to cities.
Last Monday, more than 400 buses were sent out from Shanghai to provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Hubei to bring migrant workers back to the city.
Many of the buses were rented by companies worried their migrant workers might not return.
"We employed 1,300 workers at peak times. Now the workforce has downsized to only 300 because we couldn't hire enough workers," said Hu Qiubin, chairman of a toy factory in Shanghai's Jiading District.
More factories are being relocated in the interior and the wage gap compared to the cities is narrowing.
Employment authorities in Shaoxing City in east China's Zhejiang Province contacted their counterparts in Chongqing Municipality and Sichuan Province, the traditional source of labor, at the end of last year in a bid to secure workers after the Chinese New Year. However, their request for help was turned down, with the regions instead encouraging those working in coastal cities to come back to support industrial development in their hometowns, Eastday.com reported yesterday.
A jobs fair in Shaoxing earlier this week offered around 8,000 vacancies at more than 1,200 companies. However, only 131 people were employed at the fair, compared to around 300 in previous years.
In Chongqing, an official with the Fuling District Employment Bureau said: "We are running low on labor. How can we export more labor?"
The district employment bureau signed an agreement with its Shaoxing counterpart five years ago, promising to organize 3,000 people to work in Shaoxing every year.
However, demand from local factories started to pick up from 2009. Most came from manufacturers who had relocated from eastern regions. A survey found Fuling District faced a labor shortage of 10,000 people at the beginning of this year.
"Chongqing is not an isolated case. The same situation happens in other areas," said Chen Shida, head of a human resources research institute in Zhejiang.
Average monthly salaries in China's eastern region in 2009 were 1,455 yuan (US$221), compared to 1,389 yuan and 1,382 yuan in central and western regions, according to the National Statistics Bureau.
The monthly salary for workers in manufacturing in Fuling ranged from 1,200 yuan to 2,500 yuan on average last year, according to the local gvoernment.
The high cost of living in big cities is a deterrent for many migrant workers.
"My salary was only raised by 200 yuan in the past three years. It's really hard to save money," said 44-year-old Zhu Xianghai, a Sichuan native who worked in Shaoxing.
Zhu plans to stay in his hometown this year.
An annual acute labor shortage is being seen along China's coast and hinterland after the Spring Festival break, with many migrant workers not returning to cities.
Last Monday, more than 400 buses were sent out from Shanghai to provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Hubei to bring migrant workers back to the city.
Many of the buses were rented by companies worried their migrant workers might not return.
"We employed 1,300 workers at peak times. Now the workforce has downsized to only 300 because we couldn't hire enough workers," said Hu Qiubin, chairman of a toy factory in Shanghai's Jiading District.
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