Catherwood LibraryILR School

The fact that China is due for a sizable labor shortage in the future is well known, but recent releases by Beijing?s Human Resources and Social Security Bureau may indicate that the future is coming sooner than thought. According to the city?s Human Resources and Social Security Bureau?s forecast?s show that this year the city will only have half of the people looking for jobs as there will be new job openings. The gap is surprising, but some are explaining that there is also a skills imbalance with too many students and recent graduates pursuing skills that are more applicable to academia than for business, IT, and manufacturing. The gap is even larger in the Guangdong province, which accounts for about a third of all China?s exports, with a shortage of about 800,000 workers. Chinese Officials say that reforms are in the works to increase domestic spending and to better regulate economic growth to bring balance between labor and business.