Friday, September 2, 2011

Import Product From China - At What Cost?

The manufacturing job market is growing rapidly in China and sure is not declining a bit. Currently the manufacturing sector is one of the largest employment sectors in China and at the rate it is growing it sure is a concern for US manufacturers.

Economists believe if a sector grows in all parts of the world, then it is advantageous for all. But now we find that the manufacturing sector in China is growing and that is not the case for US manufacturers.

The boom started prior to 2001. Initially it was primarily private investors who initiated the boom, but today it is governments and businesses from all over the globe who seeks out to reap the reward of Chinese manufacturing.

According to analysts, China holds over 100 million workers in the manufacturing industry, while the US holds close to 60 million. These 100 million workers exclude the millions of migrant workers that China utilizes.

In China factories that are outside of city limits are frequently overseen by a different agency or body. The China Ministry of Agriculture oversees rural factories and the Ministry of Labor oversees urban factories. Rules and guidelines are stricter for the Ministry of Labor and thus on many occasions it will be more cost effective as a rural factory, not being obligated to pay employees certain benefits and the likes.

Consider this startling fact. There are 300 million people in the USA. China has a population of 1.3 billion. Of this 1.3 billion, approximate 200 million people are unemployed. Almost as much people as the USA has alone. Thus China has a huge reserve of labor and costs will still stay low for some time in the future. "Low" in terms of international standards.

Having looked at all of these considerations, China is a country rich in human capital to drive the manufacturing industry and definitely worth to be considered.

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