春節剛過，“民工荒”就成為各方熱議的焦點，甚至還將成為今年兩會（NPC & CPPCC Sessions 2010）的熱點。它被全國乃至全球媒體集體傳播，“珠三角”（Pearl River Delta）加工制造業200多萬的民工缺口，僅“制造之城”東莞的工人缺口就高達30%；人口大省四川的招工難，對災后重建和經濟復蘇（economic recovery）關鍵時期的投資建設造成一定影響……

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

請看中國網的報道：

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“勞動力短缺”。深圳表示，今年將上調最低工資（minimum wage），以吸引勞工。這與去年初的勞動力過剩（labor surplus/redundance）局面形成了鮮明的對比。

與此同時，大量農民工（migrant workers）也于節后涌入沿海地區的人才市場（job fair）尋找用工機會，以至于一些勞務輸出大省出現了難覓農村剩余勞動力（surplus rural workers）的情況，同時引發的留守兒童（left-behind children）等問題也值得社會關注。

不過，labor shortage也促使一些過于依賴勞動密集型產業（labor intensive industry）的公司加快產業結構升級換代，發展知識密集型（knowledge intensive）、技術密集型（technology-intensive）等新興產業。