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China's Labor Market in the 'New Normal'
... The vast majority work in the private sector and informally. In addition to foregoing benefits, migrant workers earn just over half of urban workers (Lam et al., 2015;Meng, 2012). ...
The aim of this paper is to contribute to an understanding of the decisions of the near old and older Chinese to work, and how work characteristics vary across genders, localities, and within overall income and security situations as ageing advances. The results of this analysis suggest that the decision to work and the amount of work among older persons constitute key elements of coping strategies, and these continue to differ across four demographic groups: rural, urban, male, and female. These differences are associated with variations in government policies targeted towards older populations as
well as with long established cultural and social norms. A large share of the near old and older individuals, particularly in rural areas, continue to work at least part time and predominantly in non-regular employment. Much of the rural work is likely based on
necessity rather than choice, since many of those with adequate sources of income, such as employment pensions, opt out of work by age 70. Those who continue to work well into old age report few alternative sources of income and security. Most put in long hours, and a small segment continue to do so up to a very old age. Women in rural areas appear to be the more vulnerable and more likely to work well into old age. Their informal work status, longer life expectancy, reliance on household agriculture, and likelihood to engage in care work all contribute to lower work-related old age security. For urban women, lower mandatory retirement ages translate into lower pension benefits and less opportunity to
build savings.
... In order for household spending to become the new motor of economic growth, the country needs to maintain employment levels and boost wages. At the same time, it is essential that labor reforms be implemented with an element of social calm (Lam et al., 2015). ...
The need to evolve from an export-based economic model towards a different model where domestic consumption plays a larger role is what has driven the Chinese government to design new social policies to give households greater confidence and boost consumption levels. The 13 th Five-Year Plan 2016-2020 includes measures to expand the coverage of the pension system, health insurance, and unemployment insurance, and also provides for a new raise to the minimum wage. However, there are still significant challenges to come and high expectations for how these programs will develop. This paper analyzes the impact of the reforms adopted up until now and examines the scope of the initiatives set forth in the 13 th Five-Year Plan.
The main prerequisites for the transition of the Chinese labor market to a new development paradigm are highlighted. A combination of economic, social and demographic factors that determine fundamentally new aspects of the transformation of the labor market in China is revealed. The economic conditions of functioning of the national labor market are defined. The necessity of using the concept of a "New Format" for the Chinese labor market is justified. The features of the formation of the labor market of the People's Republic of China in the XXI century are revealed. Among the conditions for transforming the functioning of the labor market, attention is focused on the elements of the infrastructure development. It is recognized that within the framework of innovative development, the content model of employment provision is changing most intensively, technologies are improving, and the trajectory of staff search and recruitment is expanding. The article considers the main personnel information resources that characterize the development of recruitment in the conditions of the dynamic development of the labor market. The concept of "personnel information resources" as an element of recruitment services in the digital economy is substantiated. A classification of personnel information resources that offer recruitment services in the Chinese labor market is given. Priority services (personnel information resources) provided in the labor market for the purpose of citizens' employment have been established. The conditions of mismatch between supply and demand in the modern labor market of China are substantiated.
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