春节刚过，“民工荒”就成为各方热议的焦点，甚至还将成为今年两会（NPC & CPPCC Sessions 2010）的热点。它被全国乃至全球媒体集体传播，“珠三角”（Pearl River Delta）加工制造业200多万的民工缺口，仅“制造之城”东莞的工人缺口就高达30%；人口大省四川的招工难，对灾后重建和经济复苏（economic recovery）关键时期的投资建设造成一定影响……

A recruiter from a clothing factory in Ruibao town, Guangzhou, holds up a poster with a list of job vacancies on February 24, 2010.

请看中国网的报道：

Severe labor shortages in the manufacturing powerhouses of eastern China are forcing managements to boost wages and other incentives to attract and retain staff.
…

It is not just Dongguan. All across the Pearl River Delta manufacturing zone, employers are facing the same problem. Some factories began work a week earlier than usual after Chinese New Year in order to fulfill orders with a reduced workforce. Farther afield, the Yangtze River Delta and Shandong Province are experiencing the same problems. One Shandong factory had to turn away orders because of the labor shortage.

—— Excerpt from Labor shortages driving up wages   

China is still facing serious challenges in employment, though labor shortage has been found in booming cities in China's coastal areas recently, said Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday during an online chat with netizens.

Wen attributed the labor shortage in coastal areas to three possible factors. "First, it may be the result of economic recovery, which enables the enterprises to improve production, get more orders and thus need more workers," he said.

"Secondly, it may be that the enterprises are looking for workers for certain professions while the unemployed are looking for other jobs," he said. "Some enterprises need skilled workers, which the society is widely short of."

"The labor shortage is also a result of the growing awareness among the workers of their own rights and interests," Wen said, adding workers would weigh different choices for better salaries.

—— Excerpt from China still faces serious employment pressure, says Premier Wen

文中的labor shortage就是指“劳动力短缺”。深圳表示，今年将上调最低工资（minimum wage），以吸引劳工。这与去年初的劳动力过剩（labor surplus/redundance）局面形成了鲜明的对比。

与此同时，大量农民工（migrant workers）也于节后涌入沿海地区的人才市场（job fair）寻找用工机会，以至于一些劳务输出大省出现了难觅农村剩余劳动力（surplus rural workers）的情况，同时引发的留守儿童（left-behind children）等问题也值得社会关注。

不过，labor shortage也促使一些过于依赖劳动密集型产业（labor intensive industry）的公司加快产业结构升级换代，发展知识密集型（knowledge intensive）、技术密集型（technology-intensive）等新兴产业。