China has long been known as a teeming source of inexpensive labor, but many businesses say that's no longer true.China's massive cheap labor force helped fuel its economic boom by enabling the country to undersell its more industrialized competitors in the global marketplace. But the "pace of change in China has been so startling that it is hard to keep up," says The Economist, and the "old stereotypes about low-wage sweatshops are as out-of-date as Mao suits." The cost of labor is rising, and rapidly.
China is even importing more than it exports, posting its largest trade deficit in 12 years in February — and some are saying that's a good thing. Here, a guide to the worker's evolution in China:
How much more are Chinese workers earning?
Quite a bit. Wages for companies on the Pearl River Delta, one of the country's manufacturing hubs, have risen by 10 percent since January, according to a new report. The minimum wage across China rose 22 percent in 2011, says Britain's Financial Times. By one measure, rising wages could double — or possibly triple — the cost of manufacturing in China by 2020. "The era of cheap China may be drawing to a close," says The Economist. Read More
