China's Economy in May

choi

In chronological order.

(1) Simon Rabinovitch and Rahul Jacob, China Struggle to Fill Jobs as Working-Age Population Shrinks; Employment; The labor market remains tight despite slowdown. Financial Times, June 9, 2012.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/92108d ... 0-00144feabdc0.html

Quote:
(a) "From Beijing in north China to the southern manufacturing province of Guangdong, the main concern of workers is not finding jobs, but securing higher pay. In fact, companies say they are struggling to find and retain stuff.

"For the government, this is a significant argument against launching large-scale economic stimulus, as there is no need for a major spending boost to create jobs.

(b) "While Europe and the US struggle with rising unemployment, China’s labour problem is the opposite: it experienced a record shortfall of workers in the first quarter. The human resources ministry says that for every 108 employees sought by companies, only 100 people were looking for jobs – equating to a nationwide deficit of nearly 1m workers.

"The reason China’s job market is tightening when the economy is slowing is simple: demographics.

My comment: This is a worthy report. Besides, there is no need to sign in, to read the report.

(2) Keith Bradsher, Selling Abroad, China Eases Slump at Home; Resurgent Chinese exports could become an election issue in United States. New York Times, June 11, 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/1 ... -slump-at-home.html

Quote:

(a) "Underpinning China’s export success [in May at least] is a combination of long-term investments in automation and short-term depreciation of the currency.

"Manufacturers across China are investing in labor-saving equipment, reorganizing shop floor management and taking other measures to control labor costs, which have been rising steeply as the country grows in prosperity.

(b) "The move to automation, consistent across many industries, is a central reason that Chinese imports in the United States are becoming cheaper. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States show that average prices for goods imported from China edged down in April for the first time in almost two years, despite double-digit increases in labor costs.

"Rising Chinese labor costs have not yet meant relief for China’s rivals in other developing countries, Japan and the West, partly because automation is offsetting an erosion in Chinese competitiveness.

(c) "the renminbi [fell] nearly 1 percent against the dollar last month * * * For years, producer prices in China were rising faster than producer prices in the United States. As a result, the inflation-adjusted exchange rate of the renminbi to the dollar was rising even faster — it was up 40 percent since 2005, according to a [US] Treasury report last month.


(3) Lucy Hornby and Langi Chiang, China's Growth Flags in May, but Exports Strong. Reuters, June 11, 2012 (10:29am IST--for India Standard Time).
http://in.reuters.com/article/20 ... INDEE85A02W20120611

My comment: There is no need to read the text.