Migrant worker shortage intensifies(2)

Left-behind people become main force

As youth adults leave their hometowns to seek jobs in the bigger cities, the left-behind elderly and women -- or even children -- become the main work force in rural areas.

Li Jianzhong, mayor of Shijian Town in Renshou County of Sichuan, said that the town's working-age population came in at 17,200. Now, 90 percent of them work outside of town, turning adults of 60 or over into the main farming body.

There were about 500 young adults in Bamao Village, Xinpu County of Guizhou Province, but according to village secretary Zhou Yuming, 400 of them are now working in cities. "It's difficult to find a young person in the village now," said Zhou.

In recent years, however, many migrant workers have begun returning home. In addition to getting older, problems such as household registration, social security, housing and education drive them to search for new paths.

Cheng Xianfeng, a migrant worker from Anhui, said that the previous year, he had about 40 to 50 fellow-villager colleagues, but only 10 of them now still work in Wenzhou.

According to human resources and social security officials in Henan, Sichuan and Guizhou Provinces, most of the idle labor in rural areas are women over 45 and men over 55. Because of their rising age and lack of skills, they have a hard time finding other jobs.

Lewis turning point approaches

The intensifying labor shortage has changed the original privileged position of the employer, and meanwhile has leaved migrant workers with more bargaining power.

"Labor shortage provides more possibilities for migrant workers to improve their working conditions and raise their incomes," said Cai Fang, a researcher on demography and labor economy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). According to his research, since the labor shortage first occurred in 2004, the annual growth rate of migrant workers' wages has reached 12 percent.

The NBS data showed that in 2011, the average monthly income of migrant workers stood at 2,000 yuan, up 21.2 percent year-on-year. In 2012, despite the slowdown of the Chinese economic growth, the number increased by 11.8 percent from the previous year.

In eastern coastal region, a salary increase has become the most practical way to lure workers. Newly published statistics from the Zhejiang provincial department of human resources and social security showed that in recent years, the average incomes of migrant workers in the province have increased by 10 percent annually. At present, half of migrant workers in Zhejiang could earn 2,500 yuan per month, and a quarter of them could earn more than 3,000 yuan monthly.

In addition, according to the NBS, the income gap between eastern and western regions has narrowed down to some 30 yuan per month.

Chengdu company manager Li Zhengjun said that the workers in his company could only earn 1,000 yuan per month in previous years; nowadays, it has become practically impossible to hire anyone for a monthly salary under 2,000 to 3,000 yuan.

China's current labor force is about 900 million, including 260 million migrant workers. Due to the intensifying labor shortage and rising salaries, labor costs have also continuously gone up in recent years.

To address labor shortage, the main task facing the Chinese economy is to find a way of adjusting the nation's industrial structure and promoting steady growth.