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We note a challenging picture for prospective employers in China related to rapid economic growth and related heightening labor demand, concurrent with labor supply contraction and demographic changes. This research contributes to theoretical and practical understanding in this context, as findings reveal significant differences in mean importance scores for job expectations rated by professionals and students across gender. We suggest that, in order to survive and thrive in this complex and shifting labor market, Chinese firms must learn how to attract and retain the human resources most pivotal to their continuing success.
Keywords: gender, culture, professionals, students, china, human resources
INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE
In recent history, the Chinese labor force has experienced dramatic change. In fact, until relaxation of governmental control began in the 1980s, private industry and the ideas of labor recruitment, selection, and retention were essentially nonexistent (Belšie, 2012). That is, in earlier times, the government would assign individuals to work for government-controlled firms. With the growth of a more loosely regulated and prosperous Chinese economy, however, came the ability of companies to select employees and the opportunity for prospective employees to have some choice among potential employers. This relatively new economic dynamic brings labor supply and demand issues to the forefront of firms' planning efforts. Specifically, the declining labor participation rate makes human resources scarcer, such that firms may increasingly ascertain the need to compete for the favor of a shrinking and evolving labor supply.
Since reaching its peak in 2016, the Chinese labor pool is indeed shrinking. According to Textor (2020), the labor force reached a high of 806.94 million people in 2016 but decreased to 805.67 million in 2018.
Citing an aging population, the researcher also noted that the decrease exists not only in numerical terms but also as a percentage of the share of the Chinese population that is participating in the labor market. In fact, participation in the labor force has declined steadily from 71.45 percent in 2009 to 68.19 percent in 2019, a decrease of 3.26 percent over 10 years. Further, because of the one-child policy in place from 1979 to 2016 (when it reverted to a two-child policy), there are indications that fewer younger people are entering the labor force, and that this declining labor...