PeakTrader.com

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PeakTrader said...

Here are some relevant data on China:

China’s employment and compensation costs in manufacturing through 2008
BLS

As of year end 2008, China’s employed population was reported to be 775 million, constituting 58 percent of the country’s total population.

China’s manufacturing employment continued to grow from a total of 97.91 million at the end of 2007 to 99.01 million at year end 2008.

...manufacturing workers in China are earning more than ever before, average hourly compensation costs were only $1.36 in 2008. China’s hourly compensation costs remain far below those of many of its East Asian neighbors like Japan [$27.80] and Taiwan [$8.68], but are roughly on par with those of others like the Philippines [$1.68].

...average weekly hours worked in China’s urban manufacturing sector at the beginning of November each year show a decrease from 50.4 hours per week in 2006 to 47.9 hours per week in 2008.

Inflation in China has been substantial. Consumer prices in urban areas increased an average of 3.3 percent annually from 2005 through 2008. Consumer prices in rural areas increased even more rapidly, at an average annual rate of 3.9 percent.

Estimated hourly compensation costs of manufacturing employees in China, 2002–08

2002 4.74 yuans ($0.57)
2004 5.50 yuans ($0.66)
2006 6.44 yuans ($0.81)
2008 9.48 yuans ($1.36)

Monthly compensation per employee (98.46 million in manufacturing)

2008 1799 yuans ($259)

Yearly compensation per employee (98.46 million in manufacturing)

2008 21,593 yuans ($3,108)

Despite large increases in recent years, hourly compensation costs in China’s manufacturing sector remained only 4 percent of those in the United States in 2008; that year, hourly compensation costs rose to $1.36.

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Buddy R Pacifico said...

Peak Trader stated:

"Here are some relevant data on China:"

Here are productivty and wage data for China:

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/files/2011/04/ChinaWage1.gif

The chart shows soaring productivity and wages in urban areas.

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PeakTrader said...

Buddy, China's productivity and wages are soaring, when its high inflation rate is excluded.

Also, your chart is based on PPP, which doesn't take into account quality and consumption (pattern) differences.

The BLS data I cited above are based on a universal and hard currency.

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VangelV said...

The BLS tried the productivity scam in the late 1990s when it claimed that faster processor speeds had caused the computer industry to increase real output by several hundred percent even though the extra billions of dollars were never paid by anyone or received by anyone. It is a political body that has little trouble distorting the data to produce conclusions favoured by it master. As such it is not to be trusted by any rational individual.

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PeakTrader said...

VangelV, you haven't presented any proof BLS data are biased, one way or the other.

The people working at the BLS are technocrats, not politicians. They are mathematicians and economists, who have at least 3.50 GPAs.

It's most likely the changes required to reflect the dynamic economy were too conservative. So, for example, inflation continues to be overstated, although by less.

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PeakTrader said...

One way to balance the federal budget is scale back to the 2007 spending level (savings $1.1 trillion) and outsource part of the $3.8 trillion in spending this year (at least another $1 trillion in savings?).

I suspect, most public workers can be replaced with better workers, including the President

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Benjamin said...

Peak Trader:

Wipe out the VA, give veterans medical vouchers; wipe out the USDA; and put in locking cabin doors on airliners and give pilots shotguns, and wipe out Homeland Security.

These three steps will cut more than 500,000 federal workers off of your payroll, and add zero risk to your life.

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PeakTrader said...

The question should be:

Does this government deserve a raise? (from taxpayers).