Labor shift reshapes export sector

A steady and seemingly irreversible transition is taking place in China’s manufacturing labor market – one that may have wide-ranging consequences for suppliers and buyers alike.

Workers are heading back home.

An estimated 30 to 40 percent fewer employees returned to their jobs in the southeast following the Chinese New Year holiday. A large portion of them found new work in their hometowns – a situation which is strengthening.

China prices: Moving not necessarily a solution to rising prices

Anyone with an ear to the ground in China sourcing is probably at some stage of wondering whether they should be shifting attention inland, or to Vietnam, or India, or Cambodia. With export prices rising in China — especially its coastal region — importers need to be mindful of the issue, even if they decide not to take action for now. However, as David Dayton cautions from the vantage point of an experienced in-country buyer, the decision involves more than a simple price comparison.

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