Chinese reports say the country’s vast pool of cheap labor is getting smaller, which could hurt an economy that heavily depends on labor-intensive manufacturing.
The academy’s research shows that China’s rural labor surplus, the source of migrant workers for the country’s factories, is about 50 million people—far less than the previously estimated 150 to 200 million.
Jonathan Unger, director of the Contemporary China Center at the Australian National University, says fewer rural residents are willing to leave their farms today. This is partly because there are more employment opportunities in rural areas, and because agricultural prices have gone up.
“And at the same time taxes in the countryside, fees in the countryside have gone down because of new sets of government policies,” he explained. “So people are not eagerly forced in the way they were five, six years ago to leave the farm in order to earn enough money for their families.”
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says another reason for the reduced labor pool is the country’s population policy, which allows city residents to have just one child, and farmers up to two if the first one is a girl.
A UN study predicts that China’s workforce will reach its top in 2015 and then gradually drop. Some of China’s major manufacturing areas, such as Guangdong Province, already face labor shortages.
Some economists think these shortages are, at least for now, a regional rather than a national problem. Sun Mingchun, an economist with investment bank Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong, points out that there are still millions of people in China who can not find work.
57. According to the academy’s research, China’ rural labor surplus today is about _______.
A. 150 million B. 50 million C. 200 million D. 175 million
58. The reason why many rural residents don’t leave their farms today is ________.
A. the farmers are older than before.
B. the farmers are lazier than before
C. the farmers have much more money
D. there are more employment opportunities and agricultural prices have gone up
59. Which of the following is TURE according to the passage?
A. A study of UN estimates China’s workforce will come to the top in 2015.
B. No a study shows millions of people can’t find work in China.
C. The country’s population policy isn’t a reason for the reduced labor.
D. Five years ago, few farmers left their homes to earn money for supporting their families.
60. According to some economists, the shortage of Chinese workforce __________.
A. is a national problem B. is a regional problem
C. is not a problem D. can be solved easily
