The China Enigma: The world's factory floor is experiencing labor shortages and rising costs, but U.S. companies still see promise

摘要

Something unusual happened this year in China following the Chinese New Year Spring Festival - many of the migrant workers who keep the assembly lines running in factories located along the country's coast didn't return to their jobs after the holiday. Rather, when they returned to their homes in the interior provinces during the break, they ended up staying there. "For years, migrant workers from inland China would come to the coast in search of work," explains Pilar Dieter, director for Alaris Consulting - China, based in Shanghai. Assembly-related jobs were plentiful due to the proliferation of manufacturing plants along the coast, and migrant workers were better able to support their families.