CRI听力:Post-holiday Labor Shortage: Is It a One-way Ticket?

A survey conducted by the Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, carried out in more than 40 of the city's enterprises, revealed that fewer workers than usual are willing to return to the city after going home to celebrate the Spring Festival; a time when most Chinese people go home and spend time with their families.

26 year old Ma Qiangjun, from northwest China's Gansu Province, explains why he would rather stay at home:

"There's work in my hometown. Actually, it's better to find work in my hometown. The cost of living in Guangzhou is too high. You make 3,000 to 4,000 yuan every month, but after paying for housing and food, there's almost nothing left."

In light of the situation, employers in Guangdong and some eastern coastal provinces have been trying to lure workers back by promising higher wages and better benefits. For example, Shenzhen city authorities have announced that it would hike the minimum monthly wage by 13.6 percent starting February 2012 in an effort to attract workers and buffer their rapidly rising living costs.

The changes to the labor environment are raising suggestions that many of China's traditional manufacturing hubs are losing their competitiveness.

Zhao Bin, director of a labor market in Zhongshan city, offers his observations on the changing situation:

"When migrant workers return home, they find that their hometowns have developed and job prospects there are promising. A longtime attraction for migrants is a relatively high wage level in eastern regions, which can be about 20 percent above those in central and western provinces. But more recently, the wage differential has become less attractive, since eastern living costs have risen due to high inflation."

In addition, Zhao says workers have become increasingly unwilling to leave their hometowns, due to concerns about their children's education:

Some scholars see labor shortages as long-term phenomena, saying that such shortages will likely intensify in certain areas during the coming years as coastal and interior provinces compete for workers.
 
But a number of labor experts have challenged the forecasts of permanent shortages for the labor pool. They argue that the overall worker supply is still increasing in China, and that current shortages are merely structural, tied to a changing labor force.

Back anchor: That was CRI's Yao Yongmei.