Posted on 04/03/2006 11:48:07 AM PDT by phantomworker
SHENZHEN, China Persistent labor shortages at hundreds of Chinese factories have led experts to conclude that the economy is undergoing a profound change that will ripple through the global market for manufactured goods.
Nelson Ching for The New York Times
The Well Brain International factory in Shenzhen, China, an appliance maker, has improved salaries and benefits to try to hire more workers.
The shortage of workers is pushing up wages and swelling the ranks of the country's middle class, and it could make Chinese-made products less of a bargain worldwide. International manufacturers are already talking about moving factories to lower-cost countries like Vietnam.
At the Well Brain factory here in one of China's special economic zones, the changes are clear. Over the last year, Well Brain, a midsize producer of small electric appliances like hair rollers, coffee makers and hot plates, has raised salaries, improved benefits and even dispatched a team of recruiters to find workers in the countryside.
That kind of behavior was unheard of as recently as three years ago, when millions of young people were still flooding into booming Shenzhen searching for any type of work.
...
For all the complaints of factory owners, though, the situation has a silver lining for the members of the world's largest labor force. Economists say the shortages are spurring companies to improve labor conditions and to more aggressively recruit workers with incentives and benefits.
The changes also suggest that China may already be moving up the economic ladder, as workers see opportunities beyond simply being unskilled assemblers of the world's goods. Rising wages may also prompt Chinese consumers to start buying more products from other countries, helping to balance the nation's huge trade surpluses.
[see link to read more of the article]
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I know of some Mexicans who would love to do jobs the Chinese won't do.
LOL!!
A chink in the Chinese economy?
How do you get a labor shortage with a Billion people running around?
Is this why Wal-Mart is going upscale?
Don't know --- we just had a Mexican-themed party.
The pinatas we bought at El Supermercado were marked "Made In China."
How do you get a labor shortage with a Billion people running around?
Forced sterilization and abortion. 1 child per family law. Some day they will population control themselves out of the gene pool.

How do you get a labor shortage anywhere?
Think about it.
How do you get a shortage of anything?
Probably. LOL! I hear they are carrying more and more American made products!
The rumor I've been hearing lately is that Africa is the next continent for cheap unskilled labor.
And pretty soon Americans will love to do the jobs the Mexicans won't do. /sarc
Should move these to Mexico. Jobs there = less illegals here.
Excellent points.
The U.S. had 39,000 Chinese illegals they wanted to deport and China refused to accept them. Doesn't make sense if they are needing workers.
Sounds good.
Very interesting...
They must be having a problem understanding the nature of the industrial revolution. It is not possible to have a labor shortage in modern industry. At McD maybe, but where machines do the work of 100, ten people can do the work of an entire factory by making sure the machines are oiled, the raw materials are neatly stacked, and the product is neatly boxed for air shipment to anxious consumers everywhere on the planet same day. Too much hand work still in the Middle Kingdom, way too much.
Mexico has actually LOST jobs to China, because the corruption costs outweigh the shipping savings....
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