(Yicai Global) March 7 -- China should encourage young adults to choose blue-collar jobs instead of helping expand the country's burgeoning gig economy, according to a car manufacturing chief.

The government, society, enterprises, and other parties should cooperate to support young people to become industrial workers, Zhang Xinghai, chairman of Sokon Industrial Group, said in his proposal during the annual session of China's National People's Congress.

The manufacturing industry is having a shortage of labor as young adults are attracted by other jobs involving delivery, e-commerce, and live streaming, Zhang lamented.

China's gig economy boasted 200 million workers as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to the statistics bureau. Some 1.6 million of them were working in live streaming, with the number rising by almost three times from a year earlier.

Labor cost is rising and the manufacturing industry's ability to create jobs is weakening, said the car chief. The sector has few skilled workers and there is a disconnect between new workers' know-how and on-the-job training, he added.

Zhang shared some ideas. The government should improve the employment environment. It could offer personal income tax cuts, housing, lower social security payments, and special funding support. Firms that succeed in avoiding layoffs should be rewarded. New workers and temporary ones should be given subsidies. Moreover, talents should be cultivated, according to Zhang's proposal.

Chongqing-based Sokon, which has partnered with telecoms giant Huawei Technologies in their latest smart car model Aito M5, had more than 13,200 employees as of 2020. The company's salaries for manufacturing workers vary from CNY5,000 to CNY7,000 (a minimum of USD791) per month, according to a recruitment platform. 

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi