Where Have China’s Workers Gone?

March 7 (Bloomberg) -- Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are takingover China’s leadership at a time when growth has slackened andlabor issues have become more complex.

Reports that businesses such as Foxconn Technology Groupare raising wages and struggling to recruit workers in Chinahave intensified debate over just how many surplus workers thecountry still has. Meanwhile, a boom in college-educated Chinesehas raised concerns of an impending threat to U.S.competitiveness. These seemingly disparate concerns aboutChina’s labor force are actually linked by common underlyingfactors, with critical implications for China’s ability toremain the growth engine of the world.