Factory worker Chen Qinghai frowned as he looked at a tall bulletin board full of help-wanted notices from companies making everything from mobile phones to car parts。

　　The 19-year-old saw nothing that interested him。

　　"I wouldn’t want to do any of these jobs," he said. "The pay is too low, and there’s no chance of advancement."

　　Chen is part of the reasons many factories in southern China’s Pearl River Delta, the nation’s biggest manufacturing base, are complaining about a severe shortage of workers。

　　There are many reasons for the shortage in once-booming coastal regions. Farm-friendly policies are keeping many on the land, while other migrants are finding jobs closer to home as poor interior provinces become more prosperous。

　　But another reason is the changing labor force: More than half of China’s working-age population consists of laborers like Chen, young people born in the 1980s and 1990s。

　　Many younger workers grew up with greater prosperity in families limited by the one-child policy. They are more used to getting their way。

　　"It’s true we’re less willing to eat bitterness," Chen said with a chuckle. "We’re better educated. We know we have rights."

　　Chen comes from a village outside Shaoguan city, in the less developed northern Guangdong Province, and went to a vocational high school。

　　He said he wants to build on his technical skills in a stable position that allows him to advance each year。

　　For many, a bigger paycheck might inspire them to shop more, which could be good news for Western companies。

　　American David Levy, who runs a electric cable factory in Dongguan, has witnessed the generational shift in China’s work force. He described the first waves of migrants, who plan to send most of their money home and eventually return to their village to build a house。

　　"They can actually look the boss in the eye when they’re talking. They don’t cower when the boss comes around. They’re becoming more and more like American workers. I like that."

　　工人陈庆海(音)边看公司招工通知边皱眉头。公司产品从复印机、DVD驱动器到移动电话和汽车零件。这位19岁的青年找不到感兴趣的工作。“我不想干广告中提供的任何工作”，他说，“工资太低，而且没有发展，你只能陷在那里。”

　　这是珠三角地区——中国最大的制造业基地——很多工厂老板抱怨劳动力严重短缺的部分原因。

　　珠三角这些一度繁荣的沿海地区出现劳动力短缺的原因很多。“支农型”政策使很多人留在了他们的土地上，随着内陆省份更加繁荣，其他农民工正在离家乡更近的地方寻找工作。得到中国经济刺激政策支持的基建工程也吸引了工人。但是，另外一个关键原因是正在发生变化的劳动力大军：中国达到工作年龄的人口有超过一半的人是由像陈庆海这样的劳动者所构成，他们是出生在20世纪八九十年代的年轻人。

　　他们的态度和期望与他们的父辈有天壤之别。父辈为了很少的工资就会蹲在生产线上工作，他们把中国变成了一个制造业巨人。很多年轻工人不愿干他们的父母们所干过的“血汗活”。他们的成长伴随着家庭更大的富足。他们更习惯于我行我素。

　　“诚然，我们不太愿意吃苦，”陈说，“我们受到更好的教育，我们知道自己的权利。时代已经变了。”陈来自广东省欠发达的北部地区，上过职业高中。陈说，他的梦想是在一个能够为他提供未来职业前景的公司工作。

　　在中国开办工厂的美国人大卫•利维见证了中国劳动力大军所发生的“代际”转变。他说第一拨农民工把大部分钱寄回家，最终回到家乡盖房子。他工厂里5年前的照片记录了一代人的变化，他说：“他们的行为也不同了，谈话时平视老板。当老板来到身边时，他们也不畏缩。他们变得越来越像美国工人了。我喜欢这一点。”(作者威廉•富尔曼，陈一译)