Sanya sees labour shortage in service industry after Golden Week holiday

The labour shortage after the Chinese New Year Golden Week holiday has been a big headache for many employers in Sanya's service industry, reports sycb.com.

Many small restaurants and shops are forced to open business in the afternoon as they could not recruit enough waiters after the Spring Festival.

Many migrant workers, who left on Feb. 1 for family reunion, will not return to work before Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 17.

Besides, migrant workers, especially those working in restaurants and household service companies, are forced to try their luck elsewhere. With a mere RMB1000 per month, they are finding it increasingly difficult to cover basic expenses in Sanya, where prices have been rising steeply.

“We offer free meals and rent for employees, the salary is around 1000 yuan per month. It is rather reasonable but most young people are unwilling to do the job,” said the owner of a small restaurant in Sanya.

“As many migrant workers were born in the 1990s, they do not want to work as waitresses in restaurants or hotels. They want a more decent job and have higher self-expectations,” said the Director of Sanya Human Resource Development Office.

In recent years, the Sanya Bureau of Labour has taken measures to change the concept of employment and widen more employment opportunities for migrant workers to meet the demands of city development.