South China's Guangdong province, the nation's production and export base, is experiencing a labor shortage, local authorities said Wednesday.

The Hong Kong-bordering province is short by about 800,000 laborers, a spokesman with the Guangdong Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security said.

The labor shortage has mainly hit labor- and service-intensive industries, including the textile, catering and shoemaking industries, the spokesman said.

Industrial upgrades will cause an even more severe shortage of technical workers in the future, the spokesman said.

Source:xinhuanet