China’s Guangdong Province will raise its minimum wage by an average of more than 20 percent, amid worries that its factories cannot find enough workers to complete their orders.
The minimum wage in the country’s largest export hub will be increased by between 19.5 percent and 24.5 percent from May, a statement posted on Thursday by the Guangdong Labour and Social Security Bureau said.
The rise will translate into a minimum monthly wage of up to 1,030 yuan (US$151) in the provincial capital of Guangzhou, and about 660 yuan in some smaller towns, the statement said.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post said the rise was the biggest since Guangdong introduced standard minimum wages in 1994.
The financial crisis hit exporting regions such as Guangdong, as foreign demand for Chinese goods plummeted. However, factories in Guangdong’s Pearl River Delta region have been flooded in recent months with new orders as the global economy recovers.
Many are now suffering from an acute labor shortage as large numbers of migrant workers have refused to return to work after going home for Lunar New Year last month.
The minimum wage hike is expected to “improve Guangdong’s attractiveness to job seekers, guide workers to come back, and alleviate the labor shortage problem in some sectors,” the provincial labor department’s statement said.
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