China, having the most population in the world, has been known for its cheap labor that has greatly contributed in the boom of its economy starting the early 80s. However, experts say that China has now reached an inflection point. One of the factors that has affected this is the migration of its workers from the countryside to the cities. Imagine, 250 cities with more than 2 million people. That’s how big that migration is!
Sadly, that is slowly coming to an end. The cheap labor that China has to offer to the world may not be as cheap in a few years time. In fact, the minimum wage of laborers doubled in the past 7 years. Another factor is the rapid increasing number of the elders. Many workers now prefer looking for jobs closer to home. Based on statistics, from the 8 million workers that migrated to other urban areas where business is booming in 2010, the number dropped to only around 600,000 in 2015. This has greatly affected the profits of quite a number of companies resulting to their closing down. In effect, many of these companies have decided to relocate their businesses in other parts of Asia. Some Chinese firms who preferred to stay had no other choice but to import workers.
If this continues, the issue may cause a wide economic crisis across the whole world. China has huge demand on commodities like nickel, copper, aluminium, and thermal coal. Most of the countries that have only relied on exporting these goods to China may face a serious problem in no time.
With all these things happening, how do you think will it affect you as a consumer? Watch the video below and let us know in the comments section.
No comments:
Post a Comment