YIWU, China, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- China's booming industries are being forced by a labor shortage to raise wages, employers say.
A job placement office in Yiwu, in coastal Zhejiang province, resembled an auction house this week as businesses scrambled to replace workers who did not return after traveling home for the New Year, Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported Friday.
A woman recruiting for a textile factory crossed out a cardboard sign offering 1,600 yuan (about $240) monthly and replaced it with 1,700 yuan. "We cannot attract anybody unless we raise salaries higher than last year's levels," she said.
"We cannot afford to be picky about people's educational backgrounds or job experience," said Xu Shulong, another recruiter. "We'll take anybody, as long as they are aged between 18 and 40."
Rapid economic development in China's interior has opened new job markets, drawing migrants back from the coastal cities. Guangdong province in south China is reported to be short by 1 million laborers.
China has set a goal of doubling factory workers' salaries over the next five years in its drive to shift from a cheap-labor export economy toward one powered by domestic consumption.
The working-age population (15 through 64) is expected to peak in 2015.
