China labor force to hit 1.01 billion before decline
By Liang Yiwen | 2012-9-14 | ONLINE EDITION
CHINA'S workforce will reach its peak level of 1.01 billion in 2016 from last year's 999.38 million, according to the projection of China Human Resources Development Report released in Shanghai yesterday.
After that, the working population will decline and reach 960 million in 2030. The biggest drop will occur between 2035 and 2040 when the labor force shrinks at an annual rate of 1.15 percent, said the report.
The vast pool of cheap labor in the past three decades provided strong impetus to China's economic growth. Changes in working population will pose challenges to economic development and call for industrial transformation, the report said.
