China’s migrant workers are shunning factory jobs, and manufacturers are getting desperate

Economists say China has reached a stage of economic development where young people are less inclined to take low-wage factory work, as better options are available

Automation is helping manufacturers offset labour losses, but a lack of skilled engineers and other specialists is also slowing the development of advanced technologies

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Many of China’s young migrant workers – long the backbone of its manufacturing industry – are seeking alternatives to factory jobs. Illustration: Brian Wang

Published: 6:00am, 22 Apr 2022Updated: 10:38am, 22 Apr 2022

China’s young migrant workers are turning up their noses at humdrum factory jobs – a line of employment that previous generations were content with. Instead, many are opting to join the nation’s army of delivery workers, lured by better pay and more flexible hours.

“An internship at a factory can’t teach you anything,” said Liao Yong, a 19-year-old delivery driver in Beijing, where the job can easily bring in 15,000 yuan (US$2,350) a month – or about twice what some factory workers make on the low end.

“For seven or eight hours a day, you just keep repeating one job over and over again. There’s no room for me to improve my skills and advance. But delivery is more fun, and I get to see different things and meet different people.”

Liao’s denunciation of factory work in what is known as the “world’s factory” reflects one side of a heated debate that gained momentum last month following the remarks of an engine and automobile manufacturer, who blamed delivery services for hiring young workers.

Young migrant workers nowadays want to have a life … working as a waiter at a restaurant is more appealing than a factory job

Zhuang Bo, economist

This, the manufacturer said during China’s parliamentary meetings, is compounding the difficulties facing his industry. And he called on young people to join the factory front lines.

But for many of China’s young migrant workers, that’s a big ask. To them, the factory jobs their parents worked to pay for their rural homes are less appealing, even without considering new opportunities and the boom in urban delivery services.