2.1.5.1 Large supply of labor force

In 2004, there were 68 colleges and universities, in which there were 637,000 students (junior college students and undergraduates) under study and 101,000 students graduated, and 31 postgraduate education units where there were 42,000 postgraduates under study and 6,684 postgraduates graduated in Sichuan. In addition, there are 125 technical schools and 848 private vocational training institutions that provide a good number of vocational and technical personnel of different level and majors for the society every year.
In 2003, 46.835 million people were employed in Sichuan, of which, 9.067 million people were engaged in the secondary industry. Employees in Sichuan had high comprehensive quality. In addition, there were 1.2 million professional and technical personnel of different types in Sichuan, which was very beneficial to technical upgrade and improvement.

2.1.5.2 Low labor cost

In 2003, the average annual wages of on -post staff and workers in Sichuan was 12,300 yuan, which was below the mid-level as compared with other provinces and cities, and the labor cost was only 1/4-1/2 of that in eastern coastal cities. There is some difference in the wages of staff and workers in the cities of Sichuan. The following will take the wages of staff and workers in Chengdu City and Deyang City as reference wage.
In 2003, the reference wage for junior skilled workers was 5,780-26,229 yuan annually, that for medium skilled workers was 6,422-29,738 yuan, that for senior skilled workers was 8,345-37,223 yuan, that for technicians was 9,694-35,382, that for senior technicians was 11,943-44,212 yuan, and that for senior managing personnel was 27,600 yuan in Chengdu.
In 2003, the reference wage for junior skilled workers was 4,190-27,820 yuan annually, that for medium skilled workers was 5,110-37,060 yuan, that for senior skilled workers was 6,930-41,500 yuan, that for technicians was 8,390-40,600, that for senior technicians was 12,070-46,430 yuan, and that for senior managers was 7,160-372,060 yuan in Deyang.