http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,151890,00.html
IMAGINE if the entire workforces of Singapore and Malaysia were out
of jobs.
Click to see larger image
A typical scene at a China job fair.
Scary enough? Now picture about twice that number of new workers
entering the labour force every year.
That's what China sees.
Twenty-four million people hunt for jobs annually when there are
only 12 million jobs up for grabs.
Imagine what people hungry for work would do to get and keep a
job.
They can easily fill job fairs to the roof, tighter than sardines
in a can, as the pictures show.
Tens of thousands of job seekers, jostling with resumes, willing to
accept any terms to get a foot in the door.
This is what's happening in China, the world's most populous nation
with 1.3 billion people.
Every year, job fairs attract thousands of rural Chinese flocking
there for jobs.
This year's targeted registered unemployment rate has been set at
4.6per cent, up from last year's 4.1 per cent.
But economists believe the real set of figures could be twice as
high as a large number of the unemployed are unregistered.
A record five million university students will graduate this year
but nearly a third are unlikely to find jobs, adding to the
swelling pool of unemployed graduates.
Factor in inflation and it's clear why there is a need to slow down
an overheated economy.
And it can mean only one thing - fewer jobs to go around.
With such a drastic lack of jobs, thousands of Chinese have no
choice but to find work overseas. Chinese officials have also
talked about creating migrant workers to ease the unemployment
problem at home.
TALE OF ANOTHER CITY
The job situation is very different here.
Today, the unemployment rate stands at 1.7 per cent, a level last
seen nearly 10 years ago, before the Asian financial crisis. Job
creations are also at a high.
But still, many jobs can't be filled. That's why the nation needs
an army of foreign workers.
Yet, many Singaporeans do not welcome foreigners working
here.
MP Ho Geok Choo, who is also president of the Singapore Human
Resources Institute, said: 'Singaporeans lament competition in the
job market. But other countries also face competition for jobs,
probably even in a worse way.
'I'm sure the Chinese face competition from workers from Hong Kong,
Taiwan and even Singapore.'
'We should count our blessings.'
LABOUR MISMATCH
In this booming economy and tight labour market, employers find
themselves in a dilemma.
First, there are jobs with specific skills needed, but not enough
local talent.
Madam Ho said: 'It's not a situation where if Singaporeans are
prepared to take the job, they'll get it because these are jobs
with specific skills.'
Mr Victor Lai, assistant vice-president of job-search firm Joshua
Consulting Group, agreed.
'In high-growth industries like banking and finance, oil and gas
and the biomedical sector, there's a shortage of talent because the
job demands can't be fulfilled by locals.'
Secondly, there are jobs with less-specific skills, but Singaporean
job hunters are reluctant to take them.
Mr Lai noted: 'These are more generic jobs or temporary, part-time
or contract jobs.
'The employers may not be able to offer competitive salaries, or
the (job seeker) may not want the job because of reasons like
remote locations or because they want permanent positions.
'Since the job market is good, he or she does not have to take the
job.'
So who do employers turn to?
Foreigners are the obvious choices.
But then Singaporeans grumble and accuse them of snatching our rice
bowls.
Mr Lai said: 'The Government has made it clear they want to expand
the population to 6.5 million. To do that, it has to create
jobs.'
Even with more jobs, there will still be keen competition for the
good ones. Are we ready for the competition?
