China's Labor Force Undergoes Growing Pains

(Beijing) – China's large labor force, a key factor in the economy's three decades of rapid growth, is changing, and signs are appearing that its backbone – some 280 million migrant workers – may soon be shrinking.

The country's total number of migrant workers, the people comprising the biggest portion of the labor force, is still growing, but much slower than in the past, Yang Zhiming, deputy minister of human resources and social security, said in February. The number of migrant workers rose 1.9 percent year-on-year in 2014, a sharp decline from the 36 percent growth seen in 2010.