Jobs in world's factory lose allure

A slowdown in the growth of the mainland's labour supply will further shrink the already tight pool of workers in the Pearl River Delta after Lunar New Year, industry watchers say.

Changing demographics, tightening labour laws and competitive offers elsewhere are combining to make the Pearl River Delta, the "world's factory", a less attractive place for many migrant workers to return for work.

Sunny Ho Lap-kee, executive director of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council, said the pool of workers in the delta's factories would shrink by at least 20 per cent after the Lunar New Year.

Pay was one issue, Ho said. The average pay of a factory worker in the delta region was 10 per cent lower than the Yangtze River Delta, so the Pearl River Delta was not the top choice for many workers, Ho said.

This year would be a turning point for the mainland's workforce, he said. Growth in the nation's labour supply would start to slow and eventually turn negative under the influ- ence of the country's one-child policy.

Stanley Lau Chin-ho, the deputy chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, agreed that the number of mainland workers heading to factories in the Pearl River Delta after the holiday break would continue declining.