Salesperson still tops job vacancies

Authorities in China have been tailoring measures to address labor shortages in sectors such as the services industry and those requiring highly skilled workers.

Jobs including salesperson, restaurant server and security guard have the most vacancies, according to a list of the nation's top 100 labor shortages released recently by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Salesperson vacancies have ranked top of the list eight consecutive times, ever since the first quarterly list was published in late 2019.

Cleaners, domestic services workers and those in new professions such as beauticians and elderly care nurses are also in high demand.

"Not surprisingly, most of the waiters and waitresses in my restaurant are in their 40s, even 50s. It's not that easy to recruit people, let alone younger ones," said Li Jian, who operates a Japanese restaurant in Beijing's Chaoyang district.

"My offer for a waiter or waitress is around 4,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan ($615 to $770) a month, which is the average level for Beijing. But it's still hard to attract young people."

The ministry said a shortage of highly skilled workers is particularly troubling in sectors that require employees to possess both professional competence and knowledge of machine operation.

Labor shortages for bench workers, stamping operators and workers in hot metal processing are likely to grow in the near future, it said.

Guan Lian, vice-dean of the National Human Resources Institute for Service Outsourcing, said in a recent interview with China Youth Daily that people are now pursuing higher-quality lives, requiring better and friendlier services, and that means the services sector needs to put more effort into nurturing professional and experienced workers.

He said that while both the services industry and sectors requiring higher skills have promising futures, they are facing shortages of well-trained personnel.

Chen Lixiang, vice-dean of Peking University's China Institute for Occupation Research, said that work in the services industry usually requires lower skills and offers low pay, discouraging people, particularly the young, from taking such jobs.

Guan said that inadequate occupational development and the irregularity of the services industry also contributed to its difficulties in attracting workers.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, along with seven other central government agencies, recently released a guideline to optimize the balance of the job market and better protect people's rights at work.

It said employers must treat their employees professionally, giving the example of signing a labor contract whenever an employment relationship comes into existence.