New orders boost employment in Yangtze, Pearl River Deltas

Aug. 25, 2009 (China Knowledge) - In the export-oriented Yangtze and Pearl River Delta regions, local economies have shown signs of recovery, with jobs opening up and enterprises seeking employees to help fill new orders, sources reported.

Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, for example, currently has about 100,000 job vacancies. New orders in the city's textile sector increased by 20% in July, while the city's foreign trade volume amounted to RMB 1.34 billion, up 10.1% compared with the previous month.

In the first half of this year, sales of domestic-oriented brands grew more than 30%, according to the Wenzhou Fashion Association.

Another city in the region, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, was hit hard by the global financial crisis, but now is also facing labor shortages. With the recovery of the macro economy, a large number of enterprises in the city have seen new orders increase. Labor markets there started to warm up in April and grew rapidly in June.

Positive factors including new infrastructure projects, expanding domestic demand, and industry restructuring have led to the recovery of Guangdong's economy, said Dr. Ding Li, researcher with the Guangdong Academy of Social Science.

Industry insiders have forecast that the labor shortage will ease in September.