An arduous job

The labor shortages in more and more coastal areas in recent years have caught the public's attention as a sign that the world's most populous country is finally bidding farewell to its once seemingly unlimited supply of cheap labor, one of the key driving forces behind China's rise as a global manufacturing power.

Had not the country's long-term oversupply of cheap labor been coming to an end, it is hard to imagine why Chinese policymakers would make double-digit wage hikes a key economic target for the coming five years.

The proposed annual rise in minimum wages by no less than 13 percent on average provides a clue to the employment situation China expects in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period.