HONG KONG : China, Rural Officials, Hiring Humans, Machines, migrant workers, rural laborers, National Development and Reform Commission BY STELLA YIFAN XIE | UPDATED FEB 14, 2023 07:27 AM EST TRENDING STORIES See All Premium IT raids on BBC offices: Left attacks Centre, calls it . . . Premium Shopify’s early job cuts fuel rebound in earnings, stoc . . . Premium Markets recover strongly with Nifty surpassing 17,900; . . . Premium Yamaha R15M vs KTM RC 125: Which one to consider? With migrant workers’ opportunities dwindling, authorities are pressing local officials to find more for them to do, even if some of the work is inefficient China’s top economic agency recently called on local governments to find more work for rural laborers, such as widening roads and digging canals—even if the tasks could more efficiently be done by machines. “If it’s possible to use human labor, do not use machines, and mobilize local residents to do the jobs," said a directive released by China’s National Development and Reform Commission last month. The decree, which updated guidelines for a government rural relief program called Yi Gong Dai Zhen, or “work as relief," reflects Beijing’s concerns that migrant laborers are running out of opportunities as China’s economy evolves. The country’s nearly 300 million migrant workers used to be able to find employment easily on construction sites or in factories as China industrialized. Many jobs have disappeared, however, as China’s economy becomes more service-oriented, with more need for baristas or bank employees. While China’s overall job market is expected to improve this year as zero-Covid controls are lifted, boosting the economy, a continuing property-market slump and weak global demand for Chinese exports means that migrant workers aren’t expected to benefit much. MINT PREMIUM See All Premium Ikea price cuts show Indians prize affordability over a . . . Premium Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are suffering with PTSD Premium IdeaForge Technology IPO: 5 things to know Premium Goldman, TVS lead $150 million investment in InsuranceDekho “Employment pressure among low-skilled workers is going to be a prominent problem this year," said Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China. By her estimate, as many as 3 million low-skilled workers are stranded in the countryside as the number of jobs in the cities has dwindled. Accurately gauging employment conditions in rural China is challenging, economists say, because migrant workers are for the most part left out of the country’s headline unemployment survey, which focuses on urban areas. The urban surveyed unemployment rate edged down to 5. 5% in December from 6. 1% last April, though youth unemployment in cities remains high, at 16. 7%. But Beijing has signaled growing concern about opportunities for rural workers. Last November, five government agencies including the NDRC and the Ministry of Finance called for more measures to help construction, manufacturing and service companies absorb migrant laborers going through tough times, and banned companies from imposing age limits when hiring workers. The Yi Gong Dai Zhen program, which dates back to 1984, is one of Beijing’s tools for poverty alleviation and mopping up underused rural labor during periods of economic stress. Past participants have performed tasks such as planting trees, with priorities determined by local governments under rules set by Beijing. While details of the program’s budget aren’t publicized, Beijing spent nearly 14 billion yuan, equivalent to $2. 1 billion, to provide jobs for more than 300,000 low-earning workers in rural areas in 2021 and the first half of 2022, according to an article published by state media last August. The program’s guidelines hadn’t been updated since 2014, until the NDRC published its new directive in January urging local officials to redouble their efforts, saying the old rules no longer fit “new situations, new requirements and new demand. " The latest Yi Gong Dai Zhen guidelines essentially amount to “an official prediction that the manufacturing sector will face a severe downturn this year," said Zhaopeng Xing, a senior strategist at ANZ bank. Those receiving government relief funds will participate in small to midsize infrastructure projects near their hometowns, such as widening roads, and in some cases go through technical training, the guidelines said. In Liaocheng, a city in northeastern Shandong province, residents can earn up to 300 yuan a day, equivalent to $44, by operating cranes and doing welding jobs, according to a People’s Daily article. In Sichuan province’s Nanchong county, a local resident earned as much as 200 yuan a day on a road construction detail and learned how to use cement blenders, it reported. Officials are urged to encourage “honest work" and resist using labor-saving machinery when possible, the directive said—even though Beijing has been promoting automation across the economy to make China more efficient. The idea of paying people to do work that machines might be able to do rankled some Chinese social media users, who criticized the directive as its contents became more widely known this month. “Why don’t we go straight back to primitive society, when you need oxen and horses and tons of human labor," wrote one user on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform in China. Another sarcastically likened the initiative to using spoons instead of shovels to dig. Others questioned whether many projects were necessary at a time when China has already built much of the infrastructure it needs. The program “only adds to waste in the economy," another user wrote. In response to public questions on the program, the NDRC said its purpose is to direct more local residents to participate in construction projects and to pay “as many workers as possible" without sacrificing quality of the projects and workers’ safety. The NDRC didn’t respond to a request from The Wall Street Journal for further comment. Some researchers are skeptical about how effective the program will be. Scott Rozelle, a senior fellow at Stanford University who specializes in China’s rural economy and is in the process of conducting a survey across more than 700 villages, said preliminary findings suggest there is substantial rural unemployment in China. He said that while Yi Gong Dai Zhen was welcomed by local workers in previous decades, times have changed. As the economy becomes more service-oriented, rural workers may have less appetite for physically demanding jobs, he said. Other economists said any concerns about the program are overdone. “By nature, these types of relief programs aren’t focused on improving efficiency," said Mr. Xing from ANZ. “It’s simply a form of relief. " OPEN IN APP.