China’s migrant workers return earlier to manufacturing hubs after holiday, but find fewer openings and less pay

Workers normally return to Guangzhou and other major factory hubs after Lantern Festival, but long lines for jobs show how keen they are to earn a pay cheque after difficult 2022

But factories and recruiters point to fewer positions being available amid a decline in exports and global economic uncertainties

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Migrant workers seek employment at an open-air job market in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Monday. Photo: He Huifeng

Published: 2:00pm, 2 Feb 2023

At 8am on the Monday morning following the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday, a well-known open-air job market in China’s southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou was bustling – full of migrant workers eager to secure positions at nearby workshops and factories.

This year they appeared about a week earlier than normal. Migrant workers from rural areas and small towns traditionally return to major cities after the Lantern Festival, which falls on Sunday this year.

Typically, this leaves factories short on labour as they resume activities after the “golden week” holiday. But the situation is different now, as China is aggressively reopening and ramping up efforts to recover from the economic doldrums that resulted from three years of highly disruptive coronavirus controls.

“I lost two months’ worth of income last year because of Covid-led lockdowns,” said Zhao Da, a migrant worker from the central province of Hubei who was among those waiting to find work in Guangzhou’s Qiannan area. “So many of us want to start work early this year.”

Factories around Qiannan supply the massive Zhongda market, the country’s largest clothing and fabric market. But as eager as they are to return to work, many would-be employees are finding it difficult as China’s overall job market recovery has dragged, owing largely to weak overseas demand.

“The pay offered is lower than last year, as employers say they are concerned about uncertainties in terms of new orders,” Zhao added. “It’s different from previous years when the roads were full of garment-workshop owners holding recruitment signs and waiting to be selected by workers.