Job-seekers flood job fair in Beijing
2009-02-05
Job-seekers visit booths of companies at a job fair in Beijing February 5, 2009. College students and migrant workers flooded job fairs across the country, eager to secure work in a tight market, Xinhua News Agency reported.
ChinaDaily.com
1,000 camp out 3 nights for job application (Miami, FL)
2009-02-03
People stand in line at the Miami government administration building to apply for one of 35 firefighter positions open in the City of Miami Fire Rescue department on February 2, 2009 in Miami, Florida.
ChinaDaily.com
Maybe it is a small world, afterall?
How about some statistical context:
China's GDP - real growth rate:
9.8% (2008 est.)
China's GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 10.6%
industry: 49.2%
services: 40.2% (2008 est.)
China's Labor force:
807.7 million (2008 est.)
China's Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 43%
industry: 25%
services: 32% (2006 est.)
China's Unemployment rate:
4% officially in urban areas, but including migrants may be as high as 9%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2008 est.)
CIA - World Factbook - China
USA's GDP - real growth rate:
1.4% (2008 est.)
USA's GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 19.6%
services: 79.2% (2008 est.)
USA's Labor force:
155.2 million (includes unemployed) (2008 est.)
USA's Labor force - by occupation:
farming, forestry, and fishing 0.6%,
manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.6%,
managerial, professional, and technical 35.5%,
sales and office 24.8%,
other services 16.5%
USA's Unemployment rate:
7.2% (December 2008)
CIA - World Factbook - USA
Compared to the USA, China's growth is "booming". How does this translate into Wages for the "average" Chinese Worker?
Average Wages Of Chinese Urban Workers Continue To Increase
July 30, 2007
In the first half year of 2007, the average wage of on-duty staff and workers in urban areas reached RMB10,990, a year-on-year increase of 18.5 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China.
China's currency is yuan (CNY); also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
A Google search indicates that the recent Exchange Rate is
1 Chinese yuan = 0.146331 U.S. dollars
That means the Chinese dollar is worth about 14 cents compare to the American Dollar ... SO even with an 18.5% "cost of living" increase last year, the "average" Chinese Worker is now making only:
RMB10,990 x 0.146331 = $1,608.18 annual salary (in US Dollars)
(no wonder that Job's Fair was SO crowded!)
For comparison:
Household income in the United States
In 2007, the median annual household income rose 1.3% to $50,233.00 according to the Census Bureau.[3]
The real median earnings of men who worked full time, year-round climbed between 2006 and 2007, from $43,460 to $45,113. For women, the corresponding increase was from $33,437 to $35,102.
SO this means, the median American Worker makes about 25X more annually, than the Average urban Chinese Worker!
(No wonder Products from China are so Cheap!)
And No Wonder SO many American Companies are flocking to China:
American Companies In Beijing - The M's List
MAERSK (CHINA) SHIPPING CO., LTD.
BUSINESS: Shipping & Transportation Services
MAHON & ASSOCIATES LTD.
BUSINESS: Fund Management and Investment Advisory
MAKERS INT'L CO.,
BUSINESS: Medical
MANITOWOC NEVADA INC.
BUSINESS: Cranes, Ice-machines, Ship-building
MARION MERRELL DOW INC.
BUSINESS: Pharmaceutical
MARSH & McLENNAN INC.
BUSINESS: Risk Management, Insurance & Insurance Consulting Services
MARTIN & ASSOCIATES
BUSINESS: Consulting
MCDERMOTT INTERNATIONAL BEIJING INC.
BUSINESS: Marine Products, Services, Power Generation
MCDONALD'S BEIJING
BUSINESS: Fast food/JV
MCDONNELL DOUGLAS CHINA
BUSINESS: Aerospiness Type(s):Industrial Automation Controller
MCKENNA & CO.
BUSINESS: Law Firm
MCKINLEY & CO,. INC. CHINA
BUSINESS: Business Management Consultants
MCI GLOBAL RESOURCES, INC.
BUSINESS: Int'l telecom service
MEDEX ASSISTANCE CORPORATION
BUSINESS:
MEDI-TECH MEDICAL EQ. CO., LTD.
BUSINESS: Medical Eq
MEGA GROUP
BUSINESS: Medical
MEGA HUIYI OPHTHALMIC
BUSINESS: Clinic
MEI UNITED, INC.
BUSINESS: Medical Equipment Sales and Industrial Equipment Projects
MENTOR GRAPHICS
BUSINESS: Software
MERCK SARP & DOHME (CHINA) LTD.
BUSINESS: Pharmaceutical
MERRILL LYNCH INT'L
BUSINESS: Investment Banking
METITO LAUREL BEIJING
BUSINESS: Industrial Water Treatment & Wastewater Treatment for Power Plants, Semiconductors, Electronics, Petrochemical, Pharmacutical and Food & Beverage Industries
MEYER DARRAGH BUCKLER BEBENEK & ECK
BUSINESS: Pennysylvania Industrial alliance; Steel Tech group
MG INTERNATIONAL-CHINA, INC.
BUSINESS: Meteorological Instrumentation, Exhibitions
MICROSOFT CORP. BEIJING REP. OFFICE
BUSINESS: Computers
MILLIKEN CHINA INC.
BUSINESS: Carpet Products for Hotels and Commercial Offices
MILLIPORE CHINA LTD.
BUSINESS: Water purification
MORGAN STANLEY
BUSINESS: Investment banking
MOBIL ASIA PACIFIC PTE. LTD. BEIJING OFFICE
BUSINESS: Petroleum Products, Services, Chemicals
MOBIL SERVICES CHINA INC.
BUSINESS: Oil and Gas Exploration & Production
MODERN CHINA SCIENCES CO.
BUSINESS: Computers/Information/Telecom, China Trade, Investment, Sales/Marketing Services, OEM
MODICON
BUSINESS: Industrial Automation Programmable Controllers
MONSANTO FAR EAST LTD.
BUSINESS: Chemicals
MONTROSE FOOD AND WINE
BUSINESS: Imported Wine, Beer and Gourmet Food Distributor
MOTOROLA CHINA INC.
BUSINESS: Telecommunications Services, Electronic Components, Computers
MTI TIANJIN REP. OFFICE
BUSINESS: Business Management Consultants, Market/Economic/Trade Research, Management Training
MTS SYSTEMS (CHINA) INC.
BUSINESS: Testing Equipment
MULTIPLEX
BUSINESS: Fountain, beer & water systems
http://www.cbw.com/...
Of course, the Global World of Business, covers A to Z:
American Representative Offices & Joint Ventures in Beijing, China (A to Z)
What is the final result of this "small world" mindset?
One result is the Rich keep getting richer, while the World's Workers just keep struggling just to survive:
Chinese Union Seeks Higher Minimum Wage
The All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is asking provincial governments to raise legal minimum wages by 40-60% over the next five years.
In 2004, RMB545 was Beijing's minimum wage. This is about 20% of the city's overall average income.
(that calcs out to about $80.00 US Dollars annually -- ouch!)
In Search of Disney's Conscience
(SACOM) 10 Sep 2006
Chai Seng Candle Products and Kamlong Industrial (... a supplier for Tesco, Kellogg's, YUM!, Wal-mart, Target, Woolworths and First Years) respectively producing key chains, candles and toys for Disney. These factories pay workers hourly wages (2.04-3.41 Renminbi) much lower than the legal minimum (4.02-4.12 Renminbi, depending on the region). In the worst case, a worker was paid on average 1.7 Renminbi per hour. Workers work a 11- to 14-hour work-day, with overtime not fully compensated.
(That works out to an actual $0.29 - $0.50 hourly wage for "these indentured Factory Workers", and a regional Minimum Wage equivalent to about $0.60 per hour in US Dollars! -- How can they get away with this?)
How Rising Wages Are Changing The Game In China
BusinessWeek -- Mar 27, 2006
Labor shortages are forcing the company to boost wages. Last year salaries surged 40%, to an average of $160 a month, and Yongjin still can't find enough workers. "This business needs a lot of labor," says President Sam Lin. "This is a very tough challenge."
"That Capitalist Game" of keeping Cheap Workers, from wanting more to survive, from one day realizing that they NEED a Living Wage -- that Game, may explain Why China now has an Migrant Worker problem, too? Remind you of the USA, anyone?
Ridiculously "Cheap Workers" can add up to "Marginally Cheaper Products" (and often inferior products), to be Exported -- AND phenomenally greater Profits, for those Companies with the grit, to "transform themselves" to exploit it.
But that hardly sounds like a sound Long-Term Business Plan to me. Nor is it a stable Long-Term Structural foundation for the Economy, which becomes too reliant on such "Marginally Cheaper Products". In others word, America can't keep fueling its Economy, on the backs of 1/25-th workers, barely surviving in foreign countries. America needs to be able to make Products for itself. For its own Security, if for nothing else!
But the Multiplier Effect of Spending Consumer Dollars, in our OWN Country matters too. We can't keep running a Trade Imbalance forever. Someday, China may allow its currency to rise, or maybe the price of the Barrel of Oil will get "linked" to the Euro, instead of a the Dollar.
Who's Treasury Bills will the Bank of China want to buy then?
Obama To Hu: Correct Trade Imbalance
U.S., Chinese Presidents Say They Seek More Constructive Relationship
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2009 -- CBSNews
... For now, Beijing continues to loan Washington money by buying Treasurys and other U.S. government securities, helping to finance the ever-growing U.S. budget deficit. But there are signs its leaders may be considering trimming these holdings as that country experiences its own economic slowdown. Strains between the two economic powerhouses seem to be growing with the change in administrations.
...
Geithner accused Beijing of "manipulating" its currency during his Senate confirmation process.
...
China has allowed the value of its currency to rise by 21 percent over the past two years. But American manufacturers complain the Chinese yuan is still significantly undervalued, making Chinese goods cheaper for U.S. consumers and American products more expensive in China.
BUT there IS a "hidden Price" for all those "cheap Chinese Products" -- which is: the "out flow" of our Nation's GDP assets and our individual Consumer wealth, as well. (Not to mention the CO2 footprints, it takes to make those "cheap products".)
China's Imports:
$1.156 trillion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
China's Exports:
$1.465 trillion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
China's Current account balance:
$368.2 billion (2008 est.)
China's Imports - partners:
Japan 14%, South Korea 10.9%, Taiwan 10.5%, US 7.3%, Germany 4.7% (2007)
China's Exports - partners:
US 19.1%, Hong Kong 15.1%, Japan 8.4%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4% (2007)
CIA - World Factbook - China
USA's Imports:
$2.19 trillion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
USA's Exports:
$1.377 trillion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
USA's Current account balance:
-$568.8 billion (2008 est.)
USA's Imports - partners:
China 16.9%, Canada 15.7%, Mexico 10.6%, Japan 7.4%, Germany 4.8% (2007)
USA's Exports - partners:
Canada 21.4%, Mexico 11.7%, China 5.6%, Japan 5.4%, UK 4.3%, Germany 4.3% (2007)
CIA - World Factbook - USA
That consumer Outflow (of wealth and assets), can't go on indefinitely. Sooner or later, someone will HAVE TO stop the bleeding. Any healthy circulatory system, be it blood, or Dollars, needs to to have its "Currency" CIRCULATE -- BOTH IN and OUT.
Usually, One-way circulation system will be destined for Disaster.
A tire with an Air-Leak, will leave you stranded -- it's just a matter of time.
What goes around, comes around, and sooner or later that "sleeping giant" on the Other Side of the World, will wake up again -- and they will Demand Better. (Because they DESERVE BETTER ... than 1/25th of what their American counterparts make.)
The Workers of the developing world WILL one day demand a "Living Wage" from those Forces that would otherwise hold them back.
Because the tide can't be held back forever.
Someday that Restless US Consumer will have to just grow-up too --
"Self-reliance" is one of those defining traits of being an Adult, afterall!
(at least, in the NEW, New World Order, that Reaganomics has finally left us ...)
