A recent survey by China's Ministry of Labor and Social Security shows that the country is fighting a worsening battle against an old enemy: a labor surplus. Statistics gleaned from a survey of 115 cities, with data through year-end 2009, reveal that unemployment has been increasingly troubling since 2008 — reflecting the global economic downturn. Ironically, China is also struggling simultaneously with shortages of skilled workers in coastal manufacturing regions. Low-skilled workers and university graduates trained for white-collar employment face the greatest challenges in finding jobs, according to the survey.
