More than 80 percent of Chinese manufacturers are facing labor shortages equivalent to 10 to 30 percent of their workforces, according to a survey by a Chinese human resources consultancy.
The research by China International Intellectech Co. (CIIC) aligns with data from China’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Human Resources, which have both predicted a shortage of nearly 30 million manufacturing workers nationwide by 2025.
The birth rate in China has plunged to its lowest level since the early 1960s, with several key seafood-processing provinces experiencing negative population growth for the first time in modern history, according to a newly released government report, the China Statistical Yearbook 2022. It states that only 10.6 million people were born in China in 2021, the lowest total since 1961.
For the first time, 13 provinces reported a negative natural population growth rate – among them, key seafood production and consumption regions like Shanghai and Zhejiang. China may now face long-term negative population growth, according to demographics researchers.
The shortage of workers has in recent years prompted increased mechanization in seafood processing. Atli Sigurður Kristjánsson, the marketing manager for processing-technology firm Marel, told SeafoodSource in April 2022 his company's sales to China have surged in recent years.
However, Covid-related restrictions and higher input costs have limited the ability of processors to invest in new equipment, an executive of a major Chinese seafood processor told SeafoodSource, requesting anonymity to speak candidly.
“The machines [Marel] sold are mainly for salmon-grading and -portioning for the domestic sales market. I don’t believe that any whitefish processors have bought any equipment,” the executive said.
Income inequality and worries about future economic growth have contributed to lower fertility rates in China. In response, the government has sought to reverse its population decline by abandoning its one-child policy and widening access to a modest basic living allowance for poor workers.
China has also grown more reliant on migrant workers. However, in November 2022, migrant laborers were among those protestors in Guangzhou challenging China’s since-rescinded “zero-Covid” measures, which have prevented many of them from working.
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