China’s huge labor pool shows signs of drying up
| focus |
 |
SHANGHAI — As one of the more than 200 million people in China’s huge migrant workforce, Lu Jun has had to hustle for jobs his entire life, but suddenly he finds he has more choices and bargaining power than ever.
Lu, whose skin is tanned and his navy suit jacket faded from the sun, says he is standing taller these days as he surveys his many options at a state-funded job fair in Shanghai following the annual Lunar New Year holiday.
“Nowadays it’s not easy to find an experienced worker like me,” the 25-year-old Lu, who worked at a package printing factory in the eastern province of Anhui for five years, said proudly.
China’s vast worker pool, which has powered the explosive growth of its labour-intensive exports over the past decade, is tightening up, analysts say. That means that, while dissatisfied migrant workers are still seen as a source of potential unrest, power is tilting from employers to employees like Lu..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110308com6.html
0 comments
Post a Comment