Labor shortage hits cities as holiday nears

He Jiajing, a mother from Shanghai, has been frustrated by her hunt for a nanny over the Chinese New Year.

She has a domestic helper to clean and cook for her, plus a nanny to help take care of her 4-year-old and 10-month-old sons, but both helpers will return to their hometowns in Anhui and Heilongjiang provinces for at least 10 days over the Spring Festival holiday. 

"I have tried to find nannies who are natives of Shanghai, but failed. They also need to get together with their families," He said. 

Worried about grappling with work, children and house duties without a helping hand, the family of four has now decided to go to Sanya, the warm southern beach city in Hainan province, for the holiday.

Big cities in China experience an annual service worker shortage during Spring Festival because service providers, who are often migrant workers, return home for family reunions over the holiday.

The periodic shortage has left urban families with a pressing need to find domestic help, especially to take care of babies and the sick and elderly.

Domestic service agencies in Shanghai have received extra requests for domestic helpers or nannies during Spring Festival, which falls on Feb 10 this year.

Xia Jun, general manager of the Shanghai-based Aijun Home Service, said the company has received bookings for services during Spring Festival since early January.

"In Shanghai, we are receiving about 40 to 80 bookings for Spring Festival services every day and are expecting more in the next few days," Xia said. 

The company has about 20,000 service workers in Shanghai, 80 percent of whom are migrant workers.