China’s Wages are Rising
How about a 40% raise this year?
I’d like that.
In China last year salaries went up to an average of $160/month at a factory that makes lamps for the Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart and Pottery Barn . That is NOT they went up $160/month but up TO $160/month. It’s different, right?
Even though these employees saw a 40% raise it still didn’t keep some 20% of them from looking for greener grass on the other side of the alley at companies like Samsung, Siemens, and Nokia .
China has workers out the gazoo, doesn’t it? Or does it? Well, of course it does. But NOT all of them are 18-25 year old people with experience operating machinery. The skill base does NOT always meet the demands of a rapidly growing market some say.
That’s good for the worker, right? How about the consumer? Well, we get to pay for their raises. But that can be good, too, right? I mean if they have more money then they will buy some of the things we make, too, right?
At any rate, China suddenly doesn’t seem to have an inexhaustible supply of workers UNLESS, they start heading inland and building its factories there OR they make arrangements for the ‘peasants’ to come to the city to work. Honda, Motorola and Intel are taking the first strategy.
There are no bottomless pits. There are some pretty deep wells, however. But even they will dry up sooner or later.
When do you think sooner will come for China?
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