Shenzhen's bustling downtown has developed largely thanks to the economic stability provided by the New Balance shoe factory, which employs many local women. Photo: Cheech Exetar (flickr)

A "Made In China" tag is often associated with poorly paid women laboring over cheap goods for Western buyers. But a Fast Company article illustrates a more complicated reality.

According to Fast Company, the New Balance shoe company is what makes life in Shenzhen, China possible. Without it, the economy is built on unreliable incomes from jobs like building infrastructure and driving. But while the men work these seasonal jobs, the women in Shenzhen are consistently employed with steady wages.

New Balance, according to Fast Company employs "virtually every... woman of full-time-employment age." Without the factory, Shenzhen would be subjected to fluctuating and often impoverished migrant populations.

Some Western corporations in China undoubtedly do harm. But some, like the New Balance factory, create the opportunity for stability in otherwise severe economic conditions.

A worker makes a lens for a digital camera in a Chinese factory. Rising wages could contribute to the growth of sophisticated manufacturing jobs in China. Photo: Robert S. Donovan (Flickr)

In China, wages are rising and the cost of labor is increasing. The consequences of this trend are affecting different economic groups in ways that spell significant changes for China’s economy.

The rising wages are forcing some companies to relocate to Vietnam or India, according to a recent article in BusinessWeek. In fact, labor only accounted for about 2 percent of a company’s total costs in 2000. Today, that figure is closer to 12 percent. Profit margins have fallen from 15 percent to 8 percent over the same time period, and to compensate, companies are moving production.

Over the past two years, millions of jobs have moved to China's interior or elsewhere in Asia as factory owners try to cut costs. In Guangdong, the mainland's top exporting province, wages have almost doubled in the past three years, and more than half the factories can't find enough workers. The number of migrants who traveled to coastal provinces for work fell by 9 percent last year, to 91 million.

By contrast, a recent article in The Wall Street Journal suggests that rising wages will help China’s economy by increasing the standard of living and the purchasing power of the working class.

Many economists see the upward pressure on wages as a good thing. Higher incomes for households could help their consumption take a greater share of the economy, reducing the need to rely on investment and net exports. If companies respond by moving their manufacturing bases inland — as they have already started to do — this could help reduce regional disparities in economic development.

So why are wages rising? According to BusinessWeek, government tax breaks and subsidies have encouraged farming and industry in China’s interior, causing people who would normally fill jobs in coastal factories to stay in their home provinces. And Chinese youth are seeking jobs in the service sector, not in manufacturing.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that the government "is keen on moving up the value chain" — meaning that rising wages will shift the focus of China's economy toward more skilled manufacturing as unskilled positions move abroad.

The pool of factory workers is already 22 percent smaller than it was ten years ago, according to figures by Merrill Lynch. And the labor shortage will likely continue as the population ages and wages continue to rise. China's days of being the go-to place for cheap labor may soon be numbered.

Workers at a footwear factory in Dongguan, China. Photo: clayirving (flickr)

Made in China.

It's a label you might associate with cheap labor and mass production — but a recent study featured in BusinessWeek says that China's products may no longer be the best bargain for U.S. companies.

Outsourcing to mainland China has several "hidden costs" related to rising labor and currency rates, the report reveals. In the last three years, the yuan has gained ground on the weakened U.S. dollar and factory workers wages are going up. This translates to a drop in the average price gap between China and U.S.-manufactured products — from 22 percent to 5.5 percent.

And when you add in the costs that come with producing goods halfway around the world — storage fees, shipping delays and the price to repair or replace high-tech product parts — the ultimate savings are minimal. "A couple of years ago, outsourcing to China was a no-brainer," says Stephen T. Maurer, director of AlixPartners, the firm that led the study. Now, he tells BusinessWeek, manufacturers are thinking twice about where to send their business.

Some U.S. companies are turning to Mexico, where manufacturing rates are cheaper than China's and suppliers across the border are more accessible.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the label "Made in Mexico" will replace "Made in China." Low wages for factory workers still make China a top competitor when it comes to labor-intensive products like toys and clothes.