The stable employment of new blue collar workers and the "re skilled" approach deserve attention
2024-02-02
Recently, the "2023 China Blue Collar Employment Research Report" released by the China New Employment Forms Research Center of Capital University of Economics and Trade showed that the average monthly salary of blue collar workers in 2023 was about 6000 yuan, an increase of more than twice in 10 years, and the salary gap with white-collar workers further narrowed. Nearly 70% of blue collar workers have a monthly income concentrated between 5000 and 8000 yuan. Among them, the monthly income levels of month maids, truck drivers, and delivery workers are relatively high, ranking among the top three in terms of income for the blue collar group. In our public reporting and discussions, the term "blue collar" does not appear too frequently, but is replaced by various segmented occupations and professions, such as construction workers, factory workers, truck drivers, and so on. But in fact, this is a massive group. At present, according to statistics, the size of the blue collar population in China has reached 400 million people, accounting for 53% of the total employed population in the country. With the continuous development of China's economy and the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure, the composition of blue collar workers is also constantly changing. Among them, in addition to traditional blue collar workers such as construction workers who are concentrated in the manufacturing industry, the "new blue collar" group is also accelerating its rise and growth. "New blue collar workers" are mostly concentrated in services, thanks to the emergence and development of platform economy, flexible employment personnel continue to grow, becoming an increasingly important component of "new blue collar workers". Whether it is traditional blue collar or "new blue collar", the main body is migrant workers. The previous generation of migrant workers chose to leave their hometowns and enter cities in order to obtain higher income and seek greater development. The new generation of migrant workers prefer jobs with high freedom of time, such as working as a delivery rider in the city, which has become their first choice for work. However, an interesting finding is that the report shows that as the catering and food delivery markets expand further into third - and fourth tier cities, the cross provincial mobility of blue collar gigs has reversed, with new blue collar workers such as waiters, food delivery drivers, and ride hailing drivers leaning more towards local employment. Nearly 70% of waiters, delivery drivers, and ride hailing drivers have achieved local employment, reflecting the rise of China's county-level economy, especially the sinking and infiltration of new business models. The flexible employment positions provided by them have played a role as a "reservoir" and "stabilizer" of employment to some extent. For workers, in terms of local consumption levels, the salary they earn is not only competitive, but also does not have to face the cultural shock and embarrassment of their parents integrating into the city, greatly improving their sense of happiness in life. For local governments, the transition of labor from outflow to return also means greater potential and resilience in expanding consumption and other areas. With the continuous development of new business formats and the updating of social employment concepts, "new blue collar" will continue to expand. How to better protect their labor rights and interests has become more urgent and important. In July 2021, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other departments jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Safeguarding the Labor Security Rights and Interests of Workers in New Forms of Employment, breaking the ice from the work-related injury insurance system. With the end of relevant pilot projects, it may be gradually promoted nationwide on this basis. Another equally noteworthy issue is that for technology driven digital economy new formats, there is a synchronous increase in intelligence level, or the replacement of skills by practitioners in new formats. Taking delivery riders as an example, their existing skills
Edit：Luo yu Responsible editor：Jia jia
Source：GMW.cn
Special statement: if the pictures and texts reproduced or quoted on this site infringe your legitimate rights and interests, please contact this site, and this site will correct and delete them in time. For copyright issues and website cooperation, please contact through outlook new era email：lwxsd@liaowanghn.com
Think Tank
Recommended Reading Change it 
Home
