The labor shortage that has bitten the catering business and assembly lines for years is now spreading to other industries such as software programming.
Southern Metropolis Daily said the labor shortage had affected every business in the city despite the legal minimum wage in Shenzhen being raised 20 percent to 1,320 RMB (200 USD) per month.
The IT and software industry has always been a popular career choice for many young people, but now the sector also feels the pinch.
"Shenzhen is no longer attractive to many young IT engineers," said Zheng Hui, vice secretary general of the software industry. "Work opportunities for these people are abundant and they have a higher standard of living. But, Shenzhen is very stressful and expensive. They prefer to stay in other cities such as Xi'an and Wuhan even though the wages are slightly lower."
On the other hand, an increasing number of IT companies, such as Huawei and ZTE, were opening branches in cities where there are a large number of universities.
The report said manufacturing industries, including machinery, consumer electronic products and watches and jewelry, were the hardest hit. Statistics from the machinery association showed the industry was short of at least 150,000 workers.
"The problem is increasingly urgent," said Huang Shaoping, the association's secretary general.
Low social recognition for blue-collar workers was also a reason for the shortage of workers apart from money. "The minimum wage will rise by 20 percent from April but it won't help a lot. There is a perception among the younger generation born in the 1980s and 1990s that being a waitress is far better than a factory worker. They prefer to be in the service industry," Huang said.
A young woman named Gu quit her job at a Bao'an factory before the Spring Festival. She now works at a beauty salon in the central business district in Bao'an.
"Although the new job is no less stressful than working on an assembly line, it's far more fulfilling and hopeful," Gu said.
She said she felt disconnected to the city when she worked in a factory because "factories were usually located in remote areas and factory life was boring." Gu plans to open her own beauty salon in her hometown in a few years.
