Breaking News – Cheap labour market gradually loses its advantages as China’s populace ages
According to a recent census report, China’s current annual aging of the population rose by 3.2%, which is five times the growth rate of the total population. It is expected that in the next few decades, because of the rapidly aging population, China may lose its advantage of being a cheap labor market.
A report issued by China National Committee on Aging says that China had a population of 149 million over 60-year-old in 2006. It is expected that in 2020 the aged populace would grow to 248 million and by 2050 it would reach as many as 437 million people. China now has a population of 1.3 billion.
Yan Qingchun (phonetic), deputy director of the Committee, claims that China’s labor market will suffer the heaviest burden, especially after 2030, the population suitable for working in comparison to the overall population will be less and less.
Because the majority of the urban families are limited to have only one child, the imbalanced proportion of the aging population compared to the total populace will exacerbate due to the strict family planning policy.
An investigation report by the National Committee on Aging says that China’s rapid aging of population may eliminate China’s cheap labour advantage, in the coming decades, which will inhibit economic growth.
Over the past 30 years of economic reforms, cheap labour makes China become a world factory. However, as china’s large companies lay off more and more people, and there is no secure work insurance, the people of China on a large scale are being left out in the cold literally. To exacerbate this, the welfare system in China has completely collapsed.
Ageing of the population may also make China have to put enormous funds into the health care system and other related services. The survey says that currently over half of the aged populace in the most rural areas of China have not got any kind of medical insurance, and less than five percent of the aged population receive pensions.
The above news is brought to you by Yu Shan, Chris Thomas and Jen Settle for Breaking News on SOH Radio Network.
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